What Pastimes Are Fading/Failing With Aging Boomers?

Running. I can finally walk on a public path without being shoved aside by panting, sweating men trying to Beat their Personal Bests (or whatever it was that was more important than courtesy).
 
Scuba said:
... One reason we chose diving over snow skiing years ago is that many people dive into their 70's and one is much less likely to have a serious injury diving.
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We made that same choice. DW suffered had a couple instances of "gamekeeper's thumb," the last of which occurred despite keeping her thumbs in the palm of her mittens. Not good for someone who does surgery...

We intend to dive into our 70s--but will strive to be mindful of appropriate locations/destinations. Hope to experience the physically demanding destinations relatively early. :)
 
2017ish said:
We made that same choice. DW suffered had a couple instances of "gamekeeper's thumb," the last of which occurred despite keeping her thumbs in the palm of her mittens. Not good for someone who does surgery...



We intend to dive into our 70s--but will strive to be mindful of appropriate locations/destinations. Hope to experience the physically demanding destinations relatively early. :)
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Fully agree. Did Palau in 2016 and loved it. We just can't bring ourselves to prioritize diving in colder water so Galapagos and Cocoa Islands remain on the list but may never do those. Too many warm water places we haven't done yet! [emoji41]
 
Amethyst said:
Running. I can finally walk on a public path without being shoved aside by panting, sweating men trying to Beat their Personal Bests (or whatever it was that was more important than courtesy).
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Thats cause they all dropped dead from the jog:LOL: I used to own several Sergio Tacchini tracksuits, but when we moved they fell into the did not fit/do not wear category. I assure you, I was not one of those men shoving you, I used to wear them for my Sunday stroll on the avenue
 
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Around here it is golf and country clubs. Back in the 80's and 90's my club had over 500 members with a lot of social events. Today only 175 members with almost no social events. Club had to go semi-private just to stay afloat. Seems like a lot of younger people ride bikes, play tennis, hike, take kids on baseball/soccer tournaments which leaves little time for country clubs.
 
Where we live golf is certainly not as popular as it was ten years ago. Two local courses have been sold. Our condo backed onto a public golf course. Over the four years that we were in the condo we could see business noticeably dropping off. Not certain why. My golfing friends tell me that it is the same on other courses/other cities.
 
Bocce and lawn bowling. Canasta and dozens of other card games. Monopoly.

I think the growth of cottages equipped with TV, Internet and other pastimes has killed many of these.
 
Luck_Club said:
Sail boat racing is down significantly. Even in the relatively short 7-8 years I've been involved with the sport, I've seen the racing fleet shrink by almost 25%. Lack of funds and time are killing most hobbies in my humble opinion.
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The funny one is that our sailing club membership is actually up. I think the one design class I sail is selling boats much more slowly since the 2008 market crash.
I think the old hobby of playing in the machine shop has dropped significantly. I'm on the tail end of the boomers and really have not interest. I think that was more my FIL generation. My parents were about 18-20 years older than my inlaws.
I think there are more "makers" in the 3D printing and programming areas now of days.
 
imoldernu said:
A literal explosion of a newer sport on my lake at Woodhaven.

Kayaking

In just one year, has gone from less than 10 on the whole lake, to 70 or 80... with new ones every day. The reason is the the low cost, Every kind of store is selling kayaks... for as little as $129. Even the classic "better " grade kayaks have dropped in price from just a year ago. The common ground boat parking area is a rainbow of color, and filling up rapidly.
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This has caused a decline in canoeing as you drive the highways you see lots of kayaks, but few canoes.

Frankly it makes sense to me, and I'm wanting to change my canoe for kayaks, as they are smaller and easier to lift and store somewhere.
Perhaps there is also the independent factor, kayaking is like 2 friends walking, one can stop and smell a flower without getting permission from the other.
In a canoe, every change in direction has to be a coordinated agreement.
 
Dawg52 said:
Around here it is golf and country clubs. Back in the 80's and 90's my club had over 500 members with a lot of social events. Today only 175 members with almost no social events. Club had to go semi-private just to stay afloat. Seems like a lot of younger people ride bikes, play tennis, hike, take kids on baseball/soccer tournaments which leaves little time for country clubs.
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From what I read that is true...

There is a club a few miles away that is (was?) expensive... but it has fallen on hard times.. in the 80s it had grown to 3 golf courses.... now it is down to 2 as it sold off the land for one... but 1 of those is not maintained...


I decided to take a look... and it looks like they are going to develop condos on the other golf course... and guess what:confused: They will 'automatically' become members of the club and club dues will be taken out of their HOA fees!!!
 
It's easy to be fooled as to the broader trends, I've been involved in several proof by exception debates on other forums. There are many exceptions of course - sailing is way off, but it's still popular with the wealthy. Same with country/yacht clubs, the upper tier clubs still have (wealthy) waiting lists but upper middle class and lower tier clubs are struggling or closed. With sailing and clubs both, there are some younger members at elite clubs, but many are there primarily to connect with moneyed older members or carrying on family tradition.

And Harley and Corvette drivers seem to be noticeably older these days more often than not. Reliving their youth (nothing wrong with that)?
 
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Midpack said:
And Harley and Corvette drivers seem to be noticeably older these days more often than not.
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Riding Harley's is still okay but my Vette days are over. I seem to be able to get in them easy enough, but getting out (and standing up) is hell, especially after a long drive. Just to dang low to the ground and uncomfortable.
 
kcowan said:
Bocce and lawn bowling. Canasta and dozens of other card games. Monopoly.

I think the growth of cottages equipped with TV, Internet and other pastimes has killed many of these.
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One of my sisters who has a mansion on long island had one built on her property. She mentioned something about using oyster shells in it. When I finally got invited to the house I saw it. It was beautiful. I said since when do you play bocce? She says "I dont, but if Daddy was still here he would be very proud of this" I told her he was proud and I was too. I watch these guys sometimes after a Sunday dinner, everyone is old The Bocce Boys of Corona – Narratively
 
Midpack said:
It's easy to be fooled as to the broader trends, I've been involved in several proof by exception debates on other forums. ...
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Yep. Don't know if it is subtly ironic or not, but one of our expensive hipsterish bar/restaurants in Nashville has both Bocce Courts and 6 bowling lanes. https://www.pinewoodsocial.com/play-enjoy/ Based on our visits, they are popular enough; but that doesn't a trend make...
 
stepford said:
May be something of a small niche activity, but Hang Gliding has been dying a slow death since its heyday in the 1970s and 80s. From a peak of 30,000+ pilots with an average age of about 30 it's devolved over the last 30-35 years to fewer than 5000 averaging over 55. Give it another 20 years and it'll be gone.
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Do your numbers include the more modern sport of paragliding? Also paramotor is new. I have no idea about the trend is sport light flying, but it seems to be holding it's own or maybe even growing.
 
I can see why movie attendance is down - we go to a movie about once a decade. The last one was The Martian and we were the only ones in the theater. That theater is overpriced, and DW won't go to the one that is reasonably priced because she thinks it looks ratty.

A hobby of mine was building and flying radio control model airplanes, the kind that one built from a kit of balsa and light plywood, and covered with Monokote (a heat-shrink plastic covering) or tissue and dope. They are usually powered with glow engines that burn mostly alcohol but electric power has matured to the point that many larger airplanes are now electric. They still make kits, but sales are way down and ARF (Almost Ready to Fly) has become the norm. I'm a member of the Academy of Model Aeronautics and almost every issue of the magazine has a column or article about declining membership.

I no longer build airplanes but I do fly small foam models that weigh between 1.5 and 3 oz. in the back yard. These come complete out of the box and all that needs to be done is charge the battery and set up the radio for that model.
 
Midpack said:
It's easy to be fooled as to the broader trends, I've been involved in several proof by exception debates on other forums. There are many exceptions of course - sailing is way off, but it's still popular with the wealthy. Same with country/yacht clubs, the upper tier clubs still have (wealthy) waiting lists but upper middle class and lower tier clubs are struggling or closed. With sailing and clubs both, there are some younger members at elite clubs, but many are there primarily to connect with moneyed older members or carrying on family tradition.
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I would concur with both or your observations. I'm personally aware of several clubs both golf and boating that 20-30 years ago ran long wait lists, and today offer join now specials. Even the upper tier like New York Yacht Club in Newport, seems to be going slightly down ladder for membership these days.

I hypothesize it is tied to the stagnation of upper middle class, and too many people tied to their computers.:facepalm: There was a significant mega economic trend that took place through the late 60's into the mid 80's. It was the boom of the dual income household, which led to a surge in the upper middle class with a significant disposable income. This resulted in many finding themselves able to afford the "club" experience. The tail end of which is now in their mid 60's to late 70's. This group had huge economic opportunity and rising incomes. This created an inflationary bubble which is presently deflating.

Those in their 40's to early 60's grew up in a time where 2 incomes is no longer a bonus, catapulting them into the upper class, but a necessity in many cases, to prevent them from falling into the lower class. Hence you have a contraction in the upper middle income group.

So the present day 40 year old needs 3-4 incomes to achieve what used to be accomplished with just 2. Furthermore the college bump has almost completely been wiped out by the increased cost of attendance.
 
sengsational said:
Do your numbers include the more modern sport of paragliding? Also paramotor is new. I have no idea about the trend is sport light flying, but it seems to be holding it's own or maybe even growing.
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My numbers were just for hang gliding (HG). Paragliding (PG) is a newer sport and thus the average pilots are younger. At present there are similar numbers of HG and PG pilots in the US (though the PG population relative to HG is much higher in Europe). Also the number of PG pilots is still growing while the HG population has been in decline for decades.

In keeping with the original topic I guess PG is more of a Gen-X/Millennial sport where HG is more firmly identified with the Boomers, so I expect HG to slowly die out (as we Boomers do) while PG will handily outlast us.
 
Amethyst said:
Running. I can finally walk on a public path without being shoved aside by panting, sweating men trying to Beat their Personal Bests (or whatever it was that was more important than courtesy).
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Really? I'm seeing more and more participation in running races these days.

No excuse for getting shoved or even bumped on public paths. They are for everyone, at any speed.
 
In some of the hobbies I have been involved in for say the past 30 yrs or so the participation and enthusiasm has dropped off considerably. Two come to mind; antique (acoustical) phonographs and military firearms (pre 1960 or so).

In each, many of the once popular and BIG collector clubs have folded. Of course, the available supply of old phonographs has really dried up due to the fact that most estates and families that may have had some for sale are now gone. The prices for anything really collectable are out of the reach of most younger folks, and I suppose they are just not interested in old "junk".

Military firearms are no longer imported in any great quantities, and what is available on the retail market today is mostly scratch and dent grade. New NFA weapons haven't been added to the available pool since 1986, and the prices are astronomical; plus, the transfer process is now taking nearly a year. Unless you're buying one for an investment it's not worth the wait.

I'm sure many other collecting hobbies are experiencing similar supply vs demand issues which just turns off new prospects.


_B
 
I have mourned the rapid decline of general aviation. The reasons are great and varied, but it has really become a rich-man's hobby. One of greatest material possession I ever owned was an airplane. But...it was an expensive hobby, and living on the fringes of the world's busiest airports really sapped the fun and joy out of it. It wasn't too long ago that it uncommon for folks to own airplanes and use them to commute to work, but that really doesn't happen too much anymore.

As to scuba diving, I did enjoy this at one time, but too many hours of flying wrecked my eardrums, so no more diving for me.
 
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