What Pastimes Are Fading/Failing With Aging Boomers?

Midpack

Midpack

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Golf? Sailing/Boating? Tennis? Country Clubs? Harley-Davidsons? Corvettes? Other?

The median age for all of the above has increased considerably over the past 20-30 years, and some have already seen participation fall substantially. Younger generations aren't as interested, they have other interests. They aren't going to disappear overnight, and may always have niches, but I wonder how these and other traditional pastimes will fare once Boomers can't support them anymore?
 
Scuba diving. Although I suspect it will always have a core constituency, it has aged considerably.

Sons all see it as too slow paced/boring; maybe they'll change their minds once they hit their 30/40s? But, "back in the day," we hardly had the same reaction. Granted, that's anecdotal, but consistent with the stats....
 
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.
 
Golf seems like one that could have a very big impact even to some non-golfers. Fewer golfers mean some courses, including country clubs, will close. If you built a home on a golf course and it shuts down, suddenly your home value drops. Worse, they may develop the land the course was on, and instead of having a pleasant golf course view, you're now looking at a row of townhouses.

For awhile it seemed like skiing was giving way to snowboarding. I've wondered if resorts wound figure out how to accommodate boarders better, like somehow changing the lifts to be more convenient for them to get on and off of, at the expense of skiers, however that may be. But it seems like that trend has either stalled or reversed somewhat, from talking to the local ski resort management. I don't have a source with numbers.

Another one I've noticed is baseball (and other sport) card collecting. That was booming back in the 80s and early 90s, but has died down, along with prices. A few years ago I saw some piece on a TV show where they interviewed a guy around my age. He said when he got into the business (in his early 30s? I can't recall), he'd look around at the other dealer tables and he was the youngest. 20 years later, he'd look around, and he's still about the youngest. But collectibles ebb and flow, and it could come back again. I'd like that, but my cards are for my enjoyment rather than their value. Still, it's nice to know that what I spent so much of my allowance on as a kid really was a pretty good investment, or at least was for awhile.
 
Model Railroading.

The maker bent is going the way of robotics and raspberry pi. Modern diesels don't have the attracting panache of steam locomotives. Even if you are interested, why take up valuable basement space with a layout when you can VR it.

Okay, a bit rhetorical, but I see the dynamic in things like availability of parts.
 
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.

Oh yeah, also slot car racing...
 
ggbutcher said:
Model Railroading.

The maker bent is going the way of robotics and raspberry pi. Modern diesels don't have the attracting panache of steam locomotives. Even if you are interested, why take up valuable basement space with a layout when you can VR it.

Okay, a bit rhetorical, but I see the dynamic in things like availability of parts.
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Well, IMO this has gone downhill 40 years ago....

It is too much 'work' and after awhile it does get boring.... I used to do this when I was young... my dad did it his whole life... but at the end all he had was a 4X8 plywood with an oval track...

We used to do S gague.... had LOTS of track, LOTS of switches and could put a large layout in the garage and run 5 trains at a time... he sold almost all of it, but I have one train with some small amount of track somewhere around here... just do not know where...

smodelswithscaleletters.jpg



I still have his favorite HO engine... the 4-8-8-4 Big Boy.... It is on a shelf in the living room for all to see... I do have the 4005 but mine is all black...


MTH-80-3207-1-3.jpg
 
daylatedollarshort said:
Movie and live theater attendance.
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I would love to see the stats on movies... every time I go it seems like there are a lot of people...

Well, except for Father's day... DD and I went to see Wonder Woman and all the seats were taken for the 3D version at around 5PM... so we came home... I found it at a different theater at 10:30 so we decided to go there... We were the ONLY people in the theater!!! I told DD to tell her friends that we 'rented' out the whole theater and it was only us...

I will agree that live theater might be down, but I would bet that is not the case in NYC....
 
Hunting and fishing.
 
My activity is bowling... the people I used to bowl with are a long way from here... but when I was working it was not a big deal to leave work and go there... now it is 35 miles there and back... plus most have moved on...


I could bowl around here, but last summer I did a summer stent and it was killing my fingers!!! I tried to adjust my throw and speed, but could not do it with the control I wanted... it took me 3 months to recover... the joints are not the same as when I was younger...
 
daylatedollarshort said:
Movie and live theater attendance.
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We still like the occasional live theater performance, but going to the movies? Meh! We used to be wary of flicks (and show times) that might attract adolescents, but damn, boomer-filled cinemas are replete with loud-talkers these days, especially opinionated ones. I suspect the only thing keeping live theater audiences more or less appreciative of the actors onstage are the ticket prices.
I like to get lost in a movie. Sadly, that usually means watching it at home. But to the OPs question, I guess some boomers are causing movies to fail with other boomers.
 
Nobody goes to movies anymore, they are too crowded. -Yogi Berra (kind of)
 
daylatedollarshort said:
Movie and live theater attendance.
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Not where we are. There are five local theater companies within a 45 minute drive. We have season tickets at one theater company. From what I've seen they are usually nearly sold out. We visited a friend participating in theater in Atlanta last year. The theater there was sold out too. The local high school performing arts center has a 1500 seat capacity. The high school musical usually sells out every show each year.
 
RunningBum said:
Nobody goes to movies anymore, they are too crowded. -Yogi Berra (kind of)
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We've found a solution to crowded theaters that works for us. We attend on Sunday morning during the first scheduled showing (usually around 10 a.m.). Typically there are at most a handful of other people in the theater.
 
I think bridge, the card game, may go the way of the dodo. I'm 48 and learning the game now, but I don't know anyone younger than me who plays.
 
Texas Proud said:
I would love to see the stats on movies... every time I go it seems like there are a lot of people...I will agree that live theater might be down, but I would bet that is not the case in NYC....
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I'm going by what I've read concerning nationwide stats and trends.

On movies in theaters: "With theater attendance at a two-decade low and profits dwindling, the kind of disruption that hit music, publishing, and other industries is already reshaping the entertainment business."
Source: Why Hollywood as We Know It Is Already Over | Vanity Fair

On performing arts: "New studies released today by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and based on surveys carried out in 2012 claim that arts attendance in the US has continued to drop over the past two decades, but both struggle to incorporate digital activities into their findings."
Source: https://hyperallergic.com/174175/us-arts-attendance-on-a-downward-trend-nea-studies-find/
 
One thing that is a problem with movies is the price...

We have a few theaters who have gone to the motorized couch... you can lay down and not worry about someone kicking you from behind... and like a Lay Z Boy... but it cost $13 and $16 for 3D...

Even regular seats are $10 and $13.... and if you want the IMAX experience it is (I am surprised) $13....

But, a popcorn is $6 for small and a soda is $5...


SOOO, to take a family of 4 is over $70 for tickets, drinks and a large popcorn...

Yea, I can see why attendance might be down.... BUT!!!! There still seems to be way too many people if you go during 'normal' times... which is why I try and go when others are not there...

OR, I go in an OLD dirty ragged out normal seat theater that charges $2... and again go when not that many are there so I have a row to myself... DD hates going, but DW will at times... but she always falls asleep no matter the price which is why I like the $2 theater...
 
Some movie theaters in our area have tickets for $5 - $6 on Tuesdays and early bird discounts for around $7.

For live events we have assorted memberships in groups that have deeply discounted or free seat filler tickets so we can go out often on a modest entertainment budget. We like to see plays but we've definitely noticed the audiences are often older age groups.
 
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I rarely see the earlier automobiles, model T, etc. 30 years ago, there seemed to be many more out for "Sunday drives". Now it is a rarity.

It seems everyone wants the 60's pony or muscle cars. Not even that many mid-50's Chevys out an about these days-although I did see a nice 2 dr Nomad last week.

Any ideas as to mid-70's or later (not including 'vettes) American cars that might be collectibles in 10 years or so?
 
2017ish said:
Scuba diving. Although I suspect it will always have a core constituency, it has aged considerably.

Sons all see it as too slow paced/boring; maybe they'll change their minds once they hit their 30/40s? But, "back in the day," we hardly had the same reaction. Granted, that's anecdotal, but consistent with the stats....
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I didn't realize that diving is on the decline. Maybe another reason is that diving is so expensive, at least boat diving is. Most of the dive shops on St. Thomas charge $125 for a two-tank dive. We got a much better deal with a 10-dive package, but others we've met are paying the higher rate. We've met many younger divers here but I can imagine that youngsters who want a fast-paced adrenaline charged activity would not choose diving. 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.
 
I am not that active at present but I am a coin collector.
 
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.
..........................................
On a personal note... re: movie theaters... The last 2 movies DW and I watched in a theater, were
"Raiders of the Lost Ark"" and "All the President's men".
 
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