What percentage of the World Population should be Divers ?

[scubafanatic]

While I doubt anyone has valid data indicating the number of people that continue to dive after certification, if there is a decline as noted in other sports, a likely culprit is the rise and prominence of computer gaming. More people are content or addicted to playing action computer games than actually doing something active like diving, tennis, or fill in the blank sport. My grandkids have friends that are so addicted that they rarely leave their homes. I feel sorry for those children and adults because they miss so much of what the world has to offer, and are losing the ability to entertain themselves and interact with people.

On a recent plane flight to Costa Rica, I was stunned at how almost everyone kept their windows closed so the plane was nice and dark enough for everyone to stay buried face down into their cell phones and other assorted electronic gizmos ! Aircraft designers should go ahead and design/produce window-less aircraft, nobody appeared the least bit interested in looking out the window during take-off, landing, or at any other part of the flight. Why bother physically traveling anywhere if you're going to stay completely buried in your own little synthetic cyber world ? Kids, "The Matrix" is already here !!!

Younger folks don't appear interested in the 'real world', I'm in my early 50's so didn't grow up with the WWW, cell phones or easy-to-use personal computers, so I didn't get habituated into today's 'electronic crack' addiction, for which I'm actually very thankful!

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

Speaking from the point of view of a beginner, my perception is that it is too easy to get certified for scuba diving, in general.

Has this perception affected your confidence in any way to continue diving? If you feel you were undertrained, do you love the sport enough that you are (or were) willing to seek out alternative ways to obtain the proper knowledge to gain a feeling of competence?
Buddies, mentors, better instructors, additional training, etc.

 

[boulderjohn]

Is that certifications or just OW certs?

Total certifications at all levels.

 

[boulderjohn]

When I was teaching OW classes, I would always ask the students why they were interested in scuba. The largest percentage, by far, were learning it in preparation for an upcoming vacation to a location famous for scuba. Once that vacation is over, what is their motivation?

I also asked students in refresher classes why they had not dived in a while, and it was usually because they had learned for a specific event and then not dived in a while while other events took priority in their lives. Raising a family was by far the biggest interfering factor.

 

[Steve_C]

For what percent of the people who would like to dive is there affordable quality diving conveniently nearby? If I lived in Canada it is not clear I would still be diving or even that I would have been anything but a warm water vacation diver if that. Not that there is anything wrong with making that life choice.

 

[nolatom]

I took up golf and scuba at the same time, and did both fairly actively at first (subtitle: "It's safer to suck at golf than at scuba" ;-).

Nowadays, I still dive a few times a year, to keep the mental and muscle memory from going stale, and to keep my equipment in good shape. Also, it's still fun. Golf has dwindled to just a couple of times a year, if that. Even though it's much cheaper.

I'm lucky I think, in having decent diving a moderate drive away, doable and economical as a day trip (Orange Beach or Pensacola, from home base New Orleans) and warm water most of the year. Not everyone has that. And good "regional" diving (say one long day's drive) on East coast of Florida, or westward at the Flower Gardens.

 

[boulderjohn]

For what percent of the people who would like to dive is there affordable quality diving conveniently nearby?

Years ago I came up with an idea I called the "WTF Ratio" as a determiner for activity participation. In my theory, WTF meant "work to fun," but when it gets out of whack, it means something else.

In all activities, there is fun involved, or you wouldn't be doing it. There is also work involved, and that includes everything unpleasant that is necessary to achieve the fun--the cost of the activity, the effort to get to do it, etc. I came up with that theory in regard to skiing. I loved to ski, and I even did a little citizen racing. It was expensive, you had to get up early in the predawn darkness, you had to drive hours in terrible traffic to get there, and you had to drive hours in even worse traffic to get home. (The traffic jams coming out of the mountains in Colorado are beyond horrible.) My right knee deteriorated, making skiing painful, and when I got it replaced, the orthopedist limited me to easy slope cruising. The fun part was thus greatly reduced. The traffic jams then got even worse. When the WTF ratio consequently tilted in favor of the work, I said "WTF am I doing this for?" and my skiing life was over.

For some people, the work aspect of diving is pretty darn high. According to DEMA, every year Colorado has among the highest number of certified divers per capita in the nation, but we have no decent local diving whatsoever. You have to love diving to get into Chatfield Reservoir for the fun of it. Our state motto is that we are just a plane flight away from great diving, but what percentage of the population is going to make that plane flight on a regular basis? Consequently, I assume a huge percentage of Colorado's certified divers actually dive only rarely. I would bet that would be true of most states in the nation.

 

[boulderjohn]

I took up golf and scuba at the same time, and did both fairly actively at first (subtitle: "It's safer to suck at golf than at scuba" ;-).

On the other hand, if you perform a skill in scuba and come within 5% of perfection, people will marvel at your skill. In golf, if you come within 5% of perfection on a swing, you are dropping a ball by the pond for your penalty shot.

 

[Steve_C]

On the other hand, if you perform a skill in scuba and come within 5% of perfection, people will marvel at your skill. In golf, if you come within 5% of perfection on a swing, you are dropping a ball by the pond for your penalty shot.

Where as, in baseball if you come within 30% of perfection you are an all star and getting big bucks.

 

[MaxBottomtime]

For what percent of the people who would like to dive is there affordable quality diving conveniently nearby? If I lived in Canada it is not clear I would still be diving or even that I would have been anything but a warm water vacation diver if that. Not that there is anything wrong with making that life choice.

I laughed when I read this. I am fortunate to live close to great dive sites, but I take my vacations to dive in Canada.