# What Hobbies Are Going to Experience a Demographic Crunch? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 28, 2025, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-hobbies-are-going-to-experience-a-demographic-crunch/1023445 "2025-09-28T01:07:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2025, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-hobbies-are-going-to-experience-a-demographic-crunch/1023445/61 "2025-09-28T14:01:50Z")
Research šŸ™‚ shows that interest in community gardening [has been increasing](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1618866724000037) in recent years. [This article](https://www.weforum.org/stories/2023/02/community-gardens-boost-well-being-biodiversity/) on the World Economic Forum\* website suggests that community gardens add to habitat and biodiversity, which may simply mean that they offer more opportunities for raccoons and woodchucks to steal your produce. \*thereā€™s got to be a sinister motive for the WEF to be promoting community gardens, or at least the crankosphere would think so. Canā€™t figure out what it is - unless itā€™s part of the drive for 15-minute cities. šŸ˜± ---
**Author:** ![3AxisCtrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/ecd19e/32.png) [@3AxisCtrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/3AxisCtrl)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2025, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-hobbies-are-going-to-experience-a-demographic-crunch/1023445/62 "2025-09-28T14:30:20Z")
> [@Raza](#): > > I was going to offer flying as a hobby, mostly due to the expense. Most forms of sport aviation are declining worldwide. (Exceptions seems to be sport parachuting and paragliding.) My favorite - soaring (flying [these things](https://www.schempp-hirth.com/en/sailplanes/duo-discus/duo-discus-xl)) - is definitely included. Cost is frequently cited as an important reason, but flying has always been expensive and itā€™s not clear that the relative cost has changed much. I think one of the reasons fewer young people are showing up is the increasing quality of ā€œvirtual competitionā€: At age 15, you could solo a glider by hanging around a glider club all summer - or you could be flying an F-16 through the Grand Canyon tomorrow afternoon using Microsoft Flight Simulator. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2025, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-hobbies-are-going-to-experience-a-demographic-crunch/1023445/63 "2025-09-28T14:37:14Z")
Plastic modeler and off-and-on model railroader here. Part of the problem with the former is that kit prices are through the roof. Current price on a TOS Enterprise is about 40$. I think that maybe it cost two when I was a youngster. Thereā€™s no way someone will build a decent model first time out so 40$ is a lot more expensive a lesson than two was. Like the comedian lamenting the loss of the circuit said ā€œThereā€™s no place to be bad anymore.ā€ With trains, I think Lionel stuck with ā€˜40s technology through the ā€˜80 so repairs were something either cheap or DIY. Now all the bells and whistles take circuit boards and getting parts for something even a few years old is becoming problematic. ---
**Author:** ![3AxisCtrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/ecd19e/32.png) [@3AxisCtrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/3AxisCtrl)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2025, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-hobbies-are-going-to-experience-a-demographic-crunch/1023445/64 "2025-09-28T14:39:03Z")
Somewhat alarming to note the number of hobbies named in this thread that Iā€™ve done: - Coin collecting ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2025, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-hobbies-are-going-to-experience-a-demographic-crunch/1023445/65 "2025-09-28T14:41:54Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > Itā€™s been about 28 years since I played played a game of Star Fleet Battles. My friends who owned the game actually gave me all of their stuff in the late 90s, and I tried finding other players in the early 2000s, but it seems like a lost cause. Armadillo Design Bureau is still in business producing not only SFB but also Federation Commander, which I think is a simplified version of SFB, as well as a card game called Star Fleet Battle Force. I still have my basic _Captains Edition_ and downloaded the Silver Anniversary rulebook from their website, and have an active interest in re-learning how to play . . . itā€™s just finding anyone near here that _does_! Iā€™ve been getting on with the computer version of [Starfleet Command](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Trek:_Starfleet_Command), but it just isnā€™t the same. I do drive by ADBā€™s headquarters in a nostalgic tribute when Iā€™m in Texas though > [@Odesio](#): > > You might be happy to learn BattleTech has had something of a renaissance in the last few years. Catalyst Game Labs has the license and they produce both classic BattleTech and Alpha Strike which is somewhat simplified for the purposes of making it easier to play out larger battles. The miniatures produced for BT are a lot better than the Ral Partha ones we used back in the day (though those old minis have a certain charm to them). Oh, I am _ **all over** _ the current BattleTech scene, again, with the desktop-baed versions. Between Hare Brained Schemeā€™s [2018](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BattleTech_(video_game)) release, and the open-source [MegaMek](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_BattleTech_games), Iā€™ve got plenty of sci-fi to keep me going. But this is all at the expense of table-top, pencil & paper games though, with the custom painted minis Iā€™d collected over the years. Long ago were the days when I could sit down on a saturday afternoon with a bowl of pretzels at the neighborā€™s house, while he & his nine-year-old son would routinely roll a 2d6 and land head shots on me with ER PPCs to my face. ā˜¹ I still swear those dice were loaded. . . > [@Odesio](#): > > Table top miniatures war gaming still seems pretty safe. Warhammer 40k and Age of Sigmar pretty much dominate the market here in the United States and there are plenty of players in their teens and twenties People at work keep trying to drag me into 40k & Sigmar, but they tip the scales a little too far into the ā€˜fantasyā€™ side of sci-fi for me. ā€˜Clannersā€™ donā€™t get a +4 modifier to their ā€œcharmā€ critical hit roll. > [@Odesio](#): > > Table top miniatures war gaming seems to be pretty secure for now. Well, historical table top war gaming seems to be of interest to old people rather than young people. And after typing this out, I think I see your point . . . The old ā€œhistoricalā€ AH-published games may be dying out due to the customer base aging, but the tabletop mini games are holding their own by appealing to a younger crowd. I guess I either need to update my gaming repertoire, or find older players. This also reminds me that board games _are_ still alive and well, especially through good websites like [BGG](https://boardgamegeek.com/). Tripler Old-school table-top game nerd, and _proud_ of it. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2025, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-hobbies-are-going-to-experience-a-demographic-crunch/1023445/66 "2025-09-28T14:53:08Z")
My parents didnā€™t play bridge and I only know one guy in his 70s who still does, but that doesnā€™t necessarily translate to kids not playing cards. When I was in university, the preferred group games being played all day were either Asshole or Euchre, with the players cycling through around their classes. I remember a triple-deck game of asshole that had 15+ players at one point. My kid says his age group still plays Go Fish, but also games called Spit (2 player), Pablo (4 player), Popcorn (4-6 players). Iā€™ve never heard of them. ---
**Author:** ![Raza](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raza/32/213_2.png) [@Raza](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raza)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2025, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-hobbies-are-going-to-experience-a-demographic-crunch/1023445/67 "2025-09-28T14:55:54Z")
> [@3AxisCtrl](#): > > Cost is frequently cited as an important reason, but flying has always been expensive and itā€™s not clear that the relative cost has changed much. My all-in cost in 1987 was $2,200. I donā€™t know about now, but Iā€™m reading $250/hour wet rentals, plus instruction. So Iā€™d make a WAG at $12,000. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2025, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-hobbies-are-going-to-experience-a-demographic-crunch/1023445/68 "2025-09-28T14:59:46Z")
In terms of gardening there are two basic reasons people do it: as a hobby they enjoy and as a way to cut food expenditures. I think there has been a major decline in the number of people gardening to cut food expenditures. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2025, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-hobbies-are-going-to-experience-a-demographic-crunch/1023445/69 "2025-09-28T15:03:35Z")
> [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](#): > > The answers here are interesting in that everyone is listing hobbies that are popular amongst older generations which may not be being picked up by younger generations. Thatā€™s not a demographic crunch, thatā€™s a hobby going out of fashion. Thatā€™s the whole point of the OP. A demographic crunch is when a hobby is dominated by an aging population and there are not enough young people to replace them when theyā€™re gone. Going out of fashion is certainly a reason a hobby might experience a demographic crunch. In fact, maybe once you distill all the answers, it all goes back to going out of fashion. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2025, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-hobbies-are-going-to-experience-a-demographic-crunch/1023445/70 "2025-09-28T15:08:21Z")
> [@Raza](#): > > My all-in cost in 1987 was $2,200. I donā€™t know about now, but Iā€™m reading $250/hour wet rentals, plus instruction. So Iā€™d make a WAG at $12,000. Please clarify what you are saying. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2025, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-hobbies-are-going-to-experience-a-demographic-crunch/1023445/71 "2025-09-28T15:17:48Z")
I play only online these days. COVID killed the two places we played at in person in this area. There are younger players in other countries it seems, India & China in particular. But the American, Canadians, British and European folks seem to be almost exclusively elderly. So much so that in social online games people were confused by my having a young child, thinking that I meant young grandchild. It was a very popular game among my contemporaries at university in Pakistan in the 1980s, but none of my classmates still play that I know of. At the time I would guess at least 90% could play, even if they played occasionally and socially. Dinner parties would often end with a few rubbers. The only people playing at the universities in the US where I was a graduate student in the late 80s and early 90s were foreign students, but it was very popular among that community. My daughterā€™s university does not have a bridge club and her contemporaries seem to have no idea such a game exists. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2025, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-hobbies-are-going-to-experience-a-demographic-crunch/1023445/72 "2025-09-28T15:23:20Z")
> [@E-DUB](#): > > Plastic modeler and off-and-on model railroader here. Part of the problem with the former is that kit prices are through the roof. Current price on a TOS Enterprise is about 40$. I think that maybe it cost two when I was a youngster. Thereā€™s no way someone will build a decent model first time out so 40$ is a lot more expensive a lesson than two was. That seems reasonable. I tend to stick with the miniature war gaming side, but over the years Iā€™ve certainly had some anxiety over the cost of figures versus my skill level. When I was younger, I certainly couldnā€™t afford to buy many models let alone the paint and other tools required of the hobby. > [@Tripler](#): > > People at work keep trying to drag me into 40k & Sigmar, but they tip the scales a little too far into the ā€˜fantasyā€™ side of sci-fi for me. ā€˜Clannersā€™ donā€™t get a +4 modifier to their ā€œcharmā€ critical hit roll. Unless painting miniatures is your primary hobby, Iā€™d steer clear of Games Workshop. I got back into it in a big way during COVID, but I havenā€™t played a game since 2023. Itā€™s less of a game and more of a pageant to show off your painted miniatures. I find playing the game just isnā€™t very fun and Iā€™m getting ready to divest myself of a lot of Warhammer models. ---
**Author:** ![Raza](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raza/32/213_2.png) [@Raza](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raza)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2025, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-hobbies-are-going-to-experience-a-demographic-crunch/1023445/73 "2025-09-28T15:54:31Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > Please clarify what you are saying. @3AxisCtrl wrote: ā€œflying has always been expensive and itā€™s not clear that the relative cost has changed much.ā€œ I replied with my anecdote. To do the math (perhaps poorly), the cost of a PPL has gone up 500% but general inflation has gone up 138%. So from my anecdote of my cost and my guess as to the current cost, it would seem the relative cost has changed a good deal. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2025, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-hobbies-are-going-to-experience-a-demographic-crunch/1023445/74 "2025-09-28T16:06:11Z")
> [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > Oddly enough, the local paper just ran a story on the rebirth of mahjong, including quotes from veteran players remarking that itā€™s not just played by little old Jewish ladies like them anymore. Mahjong had a minor publicity boost a few years back thanks to _Crazy Rich Asians_. OTOH, this guy was not exactly an ideal spokesman for his hobby of choice: [![](https://frinkiac.com/meme/S06E14/498297.jpg?b64lines=IEkgQU0gQ0FMTEVEIEhBTSBTSU5DRSBJCiBFTkpPWSBIQU0gUkFESU8u) ](https://frinkiac.com/meme/S06E14/498297.jpg?b64lines=IEkgQU0gQ0FMTEVEIEhBTSBTSU5DRSBJCiBFTkpPWSBIQU0gUkFESU8u) ---
**Author:** ![gkster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gkster/32/14107_2.png) [@gkster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gkster)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2025, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-hobbies-are-going-to-experience-a-demographic-crunch/1023445/75 "2025-09-28T16:42:51Z")
I didnā€™t know that Logees has a greenhouse to visit! They have a wonderful online selection and Iā€™ve ordered stuff from them, as a gift, since I love plants myself but canā€™t keep them alive. Iā€™ll have to plan a trip for the next time Iā€™m in the area, thanks @Jackmannii for mentioning it. My neighbor is very into gardening, her mom is always visiting gardening with her, and theyā€™ve gotten her little kid into the hobby as well. And one dying hobby is shortwave radio, (not ham radio) killed by satellite and internet technology. It was big in the 60s and 70s among hobbyists trying to pick up faraway signals, but most of the flagship stations donā€™t broadcast any more, like Radio Canada International which took down its transmitters in New Brunswick. To my surprise I see that Wikipedia says shortwave listening is still alive? > **[Shortwave listening - Wikipedia](https://www.google.com/share.google?q=EKhH26mDnhAUpbp6Y)** ---
**Author:** ![3AxisCtrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/ecd19e/32.png) [@3AxisCtrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/3AxisCtrl)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2025, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-hobbies-are-going-to-experience-a-demographic-crunch/1023445/76 "2025-09-28T16:48:04Z")
> [@Raza](#): > > Iā€™m reading $250/hour wet rentals ā€¦ Yipes. Googling suggest that a C-150 wet typically goes for $100 - $150 per hour. I have a friend in a flying club (Houston area, I believe) who says the rate is $90 / hr. And [this site](https://www.bls.gov/data/inflation_calculator.htm) says the inflation factor from 1987 to today is around 2.9. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2025, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-hobbies-are-going-to-experience-a-demographic-crunch/1023445/77 "2025-09-28T17:40:41Z")
I suppose I am an outlier here, but to me wet refers to the presence of waterā€“while dry refers to the absence of water. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2025, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-hobbies-are-going-to-experience-a-demographic-crunch/1023445/78 "2025-09-28T17:43:07Z")
Wet lease means with the staff (personnel) to operate the equipment being leased. ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2025, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-hobbies-are-going-to-experience-a-demographic-crunch/1023445/79 "2025-09-28T17:45:13Z")
FYI my club charges $88/hour wet for our 172, and $117/hour wet for our 182. Though there are also monthly dues and quarterly assessments (and a joining fee) When I started (1996) our 150 was $20/hour (we sold that when we didnā€™t have enough members to justify 3 planes). We were down to 12? at one point but back up to ~30 members. Iā€™d say they skew older, though we have had some college age members. Brian wet in this case means rental includes fuel and oil ---
**Author:** ![tetranz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a587f6/32.png) [@tetranz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tetranz)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2025, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-hobbies-are-going-to-experience-a-demographic-crunch/1023445/80 "2025-09-28T19:09:05Z")
Another ham radio operator here. Iā€™m not particular active these days in terms of transmitting but havenā€™t completely given it up. These last few weekends Iā€™ve resurrected my interest a little by making sure my wire antenna between some trees is still in working condition. Rather than ham radio specifically Iā€™ve been having fun listening around on a wide range of frequencies with a little software defined radio ( [Airspy HF+ Discovery - AIRSPY](https://airspy.com/airspy-hf-discovery/) ). With that itā€™s obvious that shortwave listening is nothing like it used to be but thereā€™s still interesting stuff including some pirate stations I heard last night. Iā€™m generalizing of course but ham demographics definitely skew towards older white men. In the coming years it is going to become more difficult to justify the frequency allocations that hams have. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-hobbies-are-going-to-experience-a-demographic-crunch/1023445.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-hobbies-are-going-to-experience-a-demographic-crunch/1023445.md?page=5)