What Pastimes Are Fading/Failing With Aging Boomers?

[meierlde]

I was going to say jump roping, but then I heard a young woman on MPR this morning who apparently is a Double Dutch champion.

A lot of youthful pastimes are gone it seems: paper dolls, color by number, homemade clay/salt figures, model airplanes, embroidery.

Hunting and fishing still seem big here in MN and WI. Bridge is popular here too, at least in my crowd, as is charades.

I suspect drones have taken over from flying model airplanes.

 

[Blue Collar Guy]

Lawn Bowling

Wow, I think that was going the way of the Dinosaur when i was a kid, I never knew anyone that played it.

 

[braumeister]

This is a great thread, but I'm way too late to it. So I'll combine several comments into one post.

So after reading this thread, which was quite interesting, I think we can conclude that "things change over time". Big question is "is the change accelerating?" Seems obvious that it is but why? Probably demographics (baby boomers aging) and technology? Any other theories?

One of my favorite philosophers, Eric Hoffer, once commented that the only constant about change is that the rate of change always continues to accelerate. If you think about it, that has always been true and pretty much explains why older people have more trouble adjusting to new technology.

In times of change learners inherit the earth; while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists.

Shooting sport. My kids don't want to even touch the firearm.

Surprisingly, they might change their minds later. I got DW interested in shooting about ten years ago, and she has since influenced at least a couple dozen of her friends to try it. I was amazed.

True enough, but try to tell that to a bicyclist. A while back these people at least used bells or said "passing right". Now they just silently fly by at 15-20 mph.

This might be a regional thing. I walk/run on bike/pedestrian pathways all the time, and 95% of cyclists here are very polite, using "On your left" as notification that they are passing.

 

[Midpack]

I believe another reason for golf's decline is the amount of time it takes to play a round that doesn't have the action of a video game , considering how attention spans have gotten shorter. Being out on a course for 3-4 hours is exhausting for some people to think about.

One of my friends says his kids will happily play video game golf, but when he got them onto an actual course they were bored and complained on how long it was taking ("this isn't like the video game!"). Interesting.

I took a lesson from a pro recently, and she noted that an 18 hole round, which usually takes 4 hours +/- 30 minutes, only requires 15 minutes of real focus/concentration at most. If you average 90 strokes, that's 10 seconds per shot, sounds reasonable to me. That means the other 3 hours 45 minutes are spent walking, driving, waiting, talking, etc. I like golf, but the kids may have a point?

 

[LRDave]

I am going to ask without googling it myself (intentionally) - I wonder how golf is doing in Scotland?


Golf was more of a people's game (not the elite), originally. Also, "the people" mostly played stroke play games, which is much quicker than medal (pick up when your out of the hole - when the match is over head back to the 19th hole directly...). I feel that agonizing over a 3-footer for a 7 on a par 4 epitomizes some of the time problems with golf in the US particularly.

 

[Meadbh]

Good point. But you forget that in this case the injured party put himself in the injurers domain. Not true on the public sideWALK!

One thing that does help us walkers (including default walkers like me who own no car or bicycle)is that our sidewalks are in such bad repair that anything other than a trail bike will ruin tires and wheels in a week of use by the usual sidewalk loving bicyclists.

Ha

Ha, I stayed in your neighbourhood (Capitol Hill) a few years ago. It's a lovely neighbourhood with lots of trees. I found the sidewalks quite dangerous, because the concrete pavers had been pushed upwards by tree roots. I had to constantly watch my step to avoid doing a pratfall.

 

[athena53]

I come from a family of golfers and never could get excited about it- maybe because I have poor gross motor co-ordination, although I also find it boring. Why spend all morning on a course when I can get in a good cardio workout in a fraction of the time and be better off?

Another thing that may have killed golf- they lifted the restrictions on women too slowly. Many clubs allowed only men to become full members, meaning that a single female executive who wanted a membership so she could entertain clients there couldn't join. Even more had times when only men were allowed on the course- an artifact from the times when men worked full-time and women had more flexibility. Enlightened employers stopped paying for employees' memberships to clubs that were "exclusive" in one way or another and that meant a lot of golf clubs.

And I still think it may have been because it's slow and boring!

 

[audreyh1]

Agree with others... hunting and fishing seem to be languishing.

Also, square dancing. Golf is more slowly going away.

We go to the movies quite often. In sarasota there is a theater that is $2 in the afternoon and $2.50 at night... popcorn is reasonably priced as well... a small popcorn and soft drink for $5.

Here at home, senior price is $4 and popcorn about $6.

Hunting and fishing have indeed been languishing, which is why state parks/wildlife departments are trying to get more involved with birdwatching, which is still growing.

 

[REattempt]

Model rocketry. Model aviation/airplanes. Slot cars.

 

[Blue Collar Guy]

When i retired I was all gung ho to go fishing. I remember my father taking me maybe once or twice and I went a few times with maybe 50 people from work. I had a blast. I go on a half day charter, Im sipping my morning coffee, almost everyone was drunk within the first 2 hours of the trip. Fishing was the furthest thing from their minds. When i came home the bride asked me you think you want to try the full day one? Hahahaha. Yeah, fishing like I just described is off the list now too.

 

[braumeister]

When i retired I was all gung ho to go fishing. I remember my father taking me maybe once or twice and I went a few times with maybe 50 people from work. I had a blast. I go on a half day charter, Im sipping my morning coffee, almost everyone was drunk within the first 2 hours of the trip. Fishing was the furthest thing from their minds. When i came home the bride asked me you think you want to try the full day one? Hahahaha. Yeah, fishing like I just described is off the list now too.

I grew up fishing on the party boats in Sheepshead Bay. Show up early in the morning and when the boat is full they head out to the fishing grounds. No drinking, as I remember it. Back to the dock in late afternoon. No idea if it's still that way, but maybe you should try that sometime.

We ate at least as much fish as meat when I was a kid, almost all of which we caught ourselves.

https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=sheepshead+bay+fishing&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

 

[athena53]

When i retired I was all gung ho to go fishing. I remember my father taking me maybe once or twice and I went a few times with maybe 50 people from work. I had a blast. I go on a half day charter, I'm sipping my morning coffee, almost everyone was drunk within the first 2 hours of the trip.

Ugh- does that bring back bad memories! My Ex LOVED deep-sea fishing but turned up his nose at party boats. He had a particular boat (an 85-foot Bertram) that he'd charter out of Brielle, NJ. He was seriously into fishing but they also passed around a bottle of Mt. Gay rum every time a fish was brought on. That, in combination with getting up insanely early and the Dramamine I had to take to keep from puking, meant I was tired and dopey. And did I mention it cost $1,200 every time we/he went out, in the early 1980s?

Now I just go out for a spin around the lake behind my house in my kayak. There are edible fish in the lake, but I don't even own any fishing equipment. Life is much better.

 

[Fedup]

Greeting cards? We used to have several Hallmark stores around us, the last one is liquidating their inventory right now. Where cards used to be their primary product, I've noticed they sell more and more overpriced knickknack-junk than cards these days.

For the few (very old) people I know who still [-]insist on[/-] enjoy getting snail mail cards, we'll have to a) drive a long way, b) make do with the crappy cards at Target/Walgreens, or c) print our own.

It's probably just me, but it's seemed harder and harder to find a card I liked over the years. Too many with trivial or suggestive sentiments for my taste (and get off my lawn?).

I'm wondering about Xmas cards. My sister told me the reason she sent us a Xmas card this year because she still has some from previous years. When they are gone, it's going to be pdf by email like my brother.

 

[Fedup]

When i retired I was all gung ho to go fishing. I remember my father taking me maybe once or twice and I went a few times with maybe 50 people from work. I had a blast. I go on a half day charter, Im sipping my morning coffee, almost everyone was drunk within the first 2 hours of the trip. Fishing was the furthest thing from their minds. When i came home the bride asked me you think you want to try the full day one? Hahahaha. Yeah, fishing like I just described is off the list now too.

I still like fishing but I don't catch that many fish any more. I remember when I first went with my husband, I caught more than 60 fish at one time.

 

[6miths]

I suspect drones have taken over from flying model airplanes.

The past time was building and painting model airplanes. And ships and tanks and cars. Now most just buy them completely assembled.

 

[Scuba]

Just out of curiosity did the boats in Palau have ladders? Back in 1988 when I dove there (on a business trip to Indonesia) it was a small boat with a back roll entry and being pulled into the boat.

Yes. We went on a liveaboard dive boat. Used a smaller "chase boat" to go to the dive sites. Back roll entry but did have a ladder to get back on.

 

[Texas Proud]

Model rocketry. Model aviation/airplanes. Slot cars.

Interesting.... we did model rockets when I was young... enjoyed trying to beat your friends on who can get it closer to the launch pad when it lands... some times we were within a couple of feet..... other times it was 2 or 3 streets over... heck, I still have a few Estes engines somewhere in the house (well, if DW has not thrown them out without telling me... that has happened to other things I thought I still owned )

I did slot cars one year... there was a family who put up a professional track in their garage... IIRC it was 6 to 8 lanes... lots of racing each other... but it cost way too much money for me to do it as you had to put coins in the slot to race... and if you car jumped the track you could not get it until the race was over... so money down the drain... but, we would buy special engines and tires!!! Cannot remember what I ever did with what I had...

Not sure if you mean the plastic airplanes that you would build and hang from the ceiling... if so, did a few of those... plus a few ships...

But all were kid stuff... never did any of that when I was an adult..

 

[Lakewood90712]

Fading pastimes - Lawn Bowling

Wow, I think that was going the way of the Dinosaur when i was a kid, I never knew anyone that played it.

Still one place locally City of Hermosa Beach : Lawn Bowling Green

The guy that maintains the greens seems to be constantly mowing .

I don't know if they use the same green for Croquet .

 

[daylatedollarshort]

Dining at chain restaurants like Applebees and Olive Garden -

Can chains survive death of casual dining? - Business Insider

"The casual dining industry's slump is rooted in new competitors better suited to meet customers' changing tastes. "In terms of casual dining, a lot of it kind of comes down to the brands that are just kind of dated," Radke said."

 

[braumeister]

Ugh- does that bring back bad memories! My Ex LOVED deep-sea fishing but turned up his nose at party boats.

Maybe a misnomer on my part. When I say "party boat" I mean fishing boats where each person just shows up and pays for their day individually. Nothing to do with "parties" at all. Some people would bring a little cooler with a few cans of beer, but over the course of 9-10 hours out on the water in the sun, that wasn't bad. Probably a better name, but that's what they were called in my youth.

 

[athena53]

Maybe a misnomer on my part. When I say "party boat" I mean fishing boats where each person just shows up and pays for their day individually. Nothing to do with "parties" at all. Some people would bring a little cooler with a few cans of beer, but over the course of 9-10 hours out on the water in the sun, that wasn't bad. Probably a better name, but that's what they were called in my youth.

Yes, I meant that kind of boat- that's what we called them in NJ back then.

 

[Car-Guy]

I've seen coin collecting mentioned here a couple of times but I'm going to disagree with that one. Stamp collecting - probably, model trains - maybe, NASCAR - for sure.

I've been a coin collector all my life and have been routinely going to coin shows for the past 20+ years. There are many more coin shows these days than 20 years ago and they always seemed to be packed with folks of all ages. Often you can't walk down the aisles because of the crowds. Prices have never been higher and and I've seen a lot of "families" at the shows. I've seen educational coin collecting seminars held at some of the bigger shows for the younger folks and I believe there's even a Boy Scout merit badge for the hobby. Yes, most (but certinely not all) of the dealers seem to me older men but that's probably because it takes a while to accumulate the knowledge, time and money. It seems to be a retirement hobby for many but I do see younger dealers (30's and 40's) at the shows. Also, more and more dealers are going on-line these days. Seems everybody and his dog has a website.

As a side note, I noticed a huge increase in the hobby started in the late 90's. About the time the Statehood Quarters started coming out in the US. It's a very cheap and easy way for anyone to get into the hobby. Coincidence?

 

[gerntz]

Unfortunately, it's the people running the Boise joint who are the problem. They are apparently curmudgeonly and not welcoming to new players. But if I did play there, yes, the Thursday beginner's game is the one I would go to.

I played in a party game the other day where the lady running the game announced that partnerships getting set would be required to pay 10 cents per trick (20 cents if vulnerable or doubled, 40 cents if vulnerable and doubled) into a kitty that went to the overall winner. My Dad (life master) and I didn't like this because it skewed the bidding. Still felt that way after my Dad turned out to be the overall winner. $6 for first plus $10.60 in dimes. My Dad and I are good enough that over time we probably make back our entry fees plus a little, but I consider it to be cheap entertainment. Entry is usually $1/person and we play for 2-3 hours.

I've only been playing a year, but I play pretty much Audrey Grant / SAYC. The only modification I personally have made is that I will open 1NT with 2 doubletons. My Dad and I also have a partnership agreement that a 2NT response means support for opener's suit plus slam interest. One of my teachers says that it is much better to play the basic stuff consistently well rather than the complicated stuff poorly, so that's what I'm focusing on now. Oh, and trying to get better at counting suits. I can usually count four suits through 7 or 8 tricks, but when people start sluffing it gets tricky. It's also turning out not to be as valuable to me as I thought, since it takes away focus from other things and on defense at least there are not that many times where you have a choice that ends up making a difference.

Well you are getting into it!
- Sorry about BC. What the h is wrong with them? We bend over backwards for new players & celebrate them.
- Yes, playing basic well is better option.
- I'd only open 1NT with 2 dbtns if I have stoppers there. If not, showing 5-4 is better imo. I do open 1NT with si A. ACBL made that legal about a year ago.
- Jacoby 2NT response after 1 of major open is standard. Shows 4 card support & opening values by Responder. Normally no si unless 15+ hcp. 2NT over 1 minor is normally 11-12 game invite.
- Counting cards is good & I have problems there. But knowing what your D leads mean and signalling partner more important imo.
- SAYC is good. In fact, playing it with novice DW tonight. But..... it's going (gone?) the way of the dodo bird. Get to 2/1 Game Force as soon as you can. Biggest thing/difference is you bid 1NT vs. going to 2 level if not sure you have response points to reach 3NT+. Really helps Opener understand where Responder is.

Again, enjoy!

 

[brett]

The city just built a beautiful lawn bowling field where we live.

We were surprised. But guess what? Every time we walk by it the place is packed. Who knew?

 

[Meadbh]

Dining at chain restaurants like Applebees and Olive Garden -

Can chains survive death of casual dining? - Business Insider

"The casual dining industry's slump is rooted in new competitors better suited to meet customers' changing tastes. "In terms of casual dining, a lot of it kind of comes down to the brands that are just kind of dated," Radke said."

Apparently Olive Garden is doing quite well...

People really love to eat at Olive Garden - Jun. 27, 2017

What I see is a resurgence of interest in home cooking as people strive to eat better.