What is the fundamental reason that prevents scuba diving from becoming popular?

[Bored]

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[rjgiddings]

Kid: Hey Dad, I wanna get scuba certified.
Can I just go find this gear and then go with you diving in Puget Sound?
Me: Classes first - and eventually you get to buy gear, thousand$ of dollars worth if it’s new, slightly less $ if its used but in either case - you have to get it serviced every year.
Kid: Then do I get to dive?
Me: Well, no, you have to get educated first- so lots of classroom and pool time.
Kid: Ok, then after that - do I get to diving?
Me: Hmmm, well, still no - not yet, you go into OW and run skills in about 20-30 feet of water - and if you succeed in those skills - ok, yeah then you get an OW cert. Card.
Kid: Then can we ?
Me: Yep. You need a way of getting to the dive sites, so dependable wheels, plus gas, and of course insurance.
Kid: Wow this gear is heavy…tanks, weights, regs, drysuit.
Me: Yep. If you wanna do this, you’ll pour in some sweat equity for sure.
Kid: Well, yeah, hasta Dad, change of plans - I’m going over to Sawyers to play D&D and video games…C-ya !

This is all written tongue-in-cheek but you get the drift. I kind of chuckle that my kid would say this almost verbatim, except maybe the last part. He’s 18 and I think he would follow through to the end of the journey, but lots of teenagers and young people wouldn’t even get certified w/ so many other hobbies to choose from. The distractions are just very easy and endless.

Scuba - by its core design- is going to keep maybe 98% of the population from sticking w/ it for even say 10 years. It’s sooo much work and $$$ for that lil payoff.

 

[Bored]

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[MiloR]

I'm not refuting it. It's a fascinating thought that some of the people who believe they are being encouraging to new divers or people interested in diving may actually be turning them off from diving with their fountain of knowledge.

There is a lot of knowledge BUT there is heaps more:
Have to use a long hose/short hose/underarm hose or you are not doing it right and will kill yourself.
Along with you have to primary donate or you are doing it wrong and want to kill someone.
And, steels are the only way to dive and anything else is wrong.
Don't forget, What morons to take Advanced Open Water. They should just dive on their own.
With, people that take classes are JUST chasing cards and will never develop any skills.
Also, If you only dive in warm water/clear water/fresh water you aren't a real diver
And, boat diving is for lazy divers, REAL divers shore dive only.
Oh, jacket BCD's are horrible and you will never be a good diver with one...you HAVE to BP/W.
With...What do you mean you did your confined sessions on your knees...You will be a crappy diver forever Forgot, you are dumb for choosing a Shop/Instructor that affiliated with PADI. Wasted time and poor skills
Ever popular, Why did you do that? Ugh, some people should not being doing Scuba.
My personal favorites, If you really wanted to dive you would eat rice & beans only to afford it/You should only be a borderline collegiate athlete fitness to be a diver/If I can't put a level on your back and have a perfect bubble you need to just get out if the water now/Etc

What you reference as "fountain of knowledge" comes across as negative, condescending, and flat out disrespectful to someone new to the sport. Sure there is a ton of knowledge BUT we are talking about NEW divers with basic questions/desires. Basic questions get answered, often, with tech level detail and/or condensation it is even being asked if they already took the class. The internet is not a place for new people because the longtime think that what took them years to learn should be basic knowledge and taught in the OW class.

New divers, frankly 85ish% of divers, just want to have fun with friends. They could care less about all the minutia that keeps this board full of posts. The 15ish% care about the best defogger, the benefits of one type of battery over another, knowing how to do 8 different types of kicks, etc.

 

[Mrs. B]

New divers having fun

 

[Lorenzoid]

@MiloR , I was using “fountain of knowledge” sarcastically, as in spouting off. I agree with you. You may be right that only that 15% really stick with us here to discuss the minutiae of diving.

 

[Mrs. B]

I wonder because I’m not a serious road bike cyclist and I go to the bike forums to ask about things. Pedals, dog trailers etc

We are not serious off-roaders but we go on the forums to find out about a route and look at the images to get ideas about where to go

Almost all our information is from forums whether it’s ice climbing, kayaking, etc. because we are always moving and it’s our primary source of information and contacts.

 

[WeRtheOcean]

update their Facebook posts/blogs every few days, etc.

people on the Internet are not nice. They are, generically, a bunch of know it all blowhards

I used to fit Lorenzoid's description -- a set time on Fabebook every day. But as Facebook changed its fotmat, the problem MiloR mentioned changed that. Now, "sponsored" posts, I understand -- just like our own ScubaBoard forum has ads. But when the "suggested for you" posts proliferated, I found that I ended up spending more time interacting with know it all blowhards than I did with actual friends and family members. I am currently taking a break from Facebook -- and told my actual friends and family menbers that I would be doing so.

Interesting Lorenzoid's insight, that online interaction might mean that attempts to get people interested might instead be turning people off. I haven't found that to be the case on ScubaBoard; unless some of the frank discussions of the cost in this thread count as turning me off. But really, I would have discovered that information anyway, and it would have had the same effect regardless.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

What happened to the OP of this thread - scuba client?
I noticed he got banned. What did I miss?