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Exactly. Kids magazines? The local library? Those seemed old fashioned when I was a kid, and I'm almost 30! By middle school I was getting the majority of my news and information on the internet. Local niche shops? Amazon launched when I was 7.
Every time this topic comes up, it seems like a lot of folks are expecting the hobby to be exactly like it was when they were little, and when it's not, they assume it's a lost cause and we get a sad head shake about kids these days not appreciating hobbies and expecting instant gratification. But it isn't lost! "Different" isn't "wrong"! A lot of the old gateways might be closing, but that means you just need to find the new ones!
Kids too obsessed with computers? I got a bunch of kids at a local school interested in rockets by showing them OpenRocket and tying their interest in computer design to the gratification of turning that into a physical object. Showed them YouTube videos of big rockets (high power and full-scale launch vehicles) that would be impossible to see in person. Demonstrated electronics - showed how you can fly a tiny altimeter and get a neat graph of all your flight data, or program your own deployment controller or GPS tracker with an Arduino, or use a cheap keychain camera to get awesome flight images.
Hobby rocketry really took off when the space race was all the rage. It's starting to be a big deal again, so that helps, but tech is king now. So tying rockets (which lets face it are usually pretty low-tech for beginners) with the information age can be very appealing. Even a slick web presence for your club can be a huge help - too many clubs have websites that look like they came from the GeoCities age. Rarely updated, no easy way to get pictures or video, dead links, etc. Any high power club that doesn't have a link to video of big rockets going off is missing out. One thing today's youth definitely are impatient about is information. They are bombarded with a firehose of easy info on any topic imaginable, and you have to stand out among that. We are a very visually appealing hobby - take advantage of that!
So the short answer is, if you want to grow, you need to adapt. Rather than try to force people to be interested in your version of the hobby, tie your hobby to things they are already interested in.
+1. This reply should be a sticky for every time this hand-wringing topic comes up.
Face it, old-school craftmanship hobbies needing balsa, glue, and paint are gone and never coming back. Model railroading? You gotta be kidding me - that was dated when I was a kid, and I am 50. The new version of hands-on hobbies are tailored to middle-aged men with money to burn. Gawd, just look at all the HPR motor choices and electronic gadgets available in rocketry!
The biggest threat to rocketry is the loss of launch sites - LPR to HPR. Haulin' your kid for 3 hour car ride to a club launch, just to put up an Alpha on an A8-3, can be a buzz kill.
As mentioned, the new craftmanship hobbies involve tech and electrons. My son couldn't care less about rockets and models. However, we built a computer together this winter.
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