For some time now there's been ongoing discussions and blogging about the aging of ham radio operators, especially in the United States. Concern has been expressed about how to best attract and keep new operators and young people. In essence, how to compete with the internet, social networking, and all the other daily distractions that you and I and everyone else faces. Or, how to best combine and adopt those 'distractions' into ham radio itself, making the best of all worlds. Wouldn't a young person be more likely to become interested in ham radio if the internet was a big part of it? And wouldn't they be more inclined to stay a part of it?
Those are important topics, unquestionably. And, like it or not, we're increasingly facing those challenges every day.
But I have a problem with a particular part of the concern being expressed. Namely, the worry over the apparent discovery that US contesters are a good 12 years on average older than their European counterparts. I'm not sure just how accurate or valid those results are, but let's assume that they are correct. My next question would be, does this only apply to contesters or does it apply to all of the ham population? Is the average age of a US ham 10 to 12 years older than their European counterpart? I don't know the answer to that. But for the sake of discussion, let's assume that it's somewhere around that.
My question to you is, is this necessarily a 'bad' thing? Suppose for a moment that that primarily younger group of ham licensees in Europe (or anywhere) is substandard in terms of quality - with respect to operating habits and behavior. I'm not saying that it is, but just go with me for a moment. Would you rather have a younger group of poor operators or an older group of good operators?
Let me put it another way. In my line of work, we often evaluate and subcontract with outside engineering firms to do certain parts of our business. One of the criteria we examine is how much experience a firm has. If the average age of one firm is 50 and the average age of another is 36, I can tell you who gets bumped to the top of the list. Is that a definitive and always accurate barometer of that firm's capabilities? No, but more often than not there's some merit to it. Here's another. Do you want a doctor with 25 years of experience operating on you or a doctor with 5? Again, most are going to favor the doctor with more experience. That doesn't ALWAYS equate to the 'right' choice, but odds are in favor of experience.
Yes, I know, one can point out exceptions to both of those examples. But experience comes with doing something over and over. Experience comes with age. It has to. Because as you do things over and over, you get older, right? Just because European contesters are younger, are they better? Is the contesting world benefitting or suffering because of this? Does a group with 10 years experience in contesting fare well against a group with 20? I don't know, I'm asking. OK, I've beat that dead horse long enough.
I ask you to think about how operating habits have become since no-code licenses have become available. Can anyone say that they've improved? As someone who entered the hobby when there weren't pools of questions and answers readily available, took a code test, and then became inactive, returning 20 years later when everything had changed, I know the answer to that question. No, operating habits have deteriorated to mayhem at times.
But this isn't an essay to slam youth or debate about code/no-code. The rules are what they are and we have to live with them (or change them). But the only way to improve the quality of life on the bands is to promote better operating habits and let our on-the-air actions and behavior guide newcomers and those who aren't following "good operating practice".
Before we go off the deep end about how old we're getting and how ham radio is going to go down the toilet because of it, how about letting our experience and knowledge count for something? Just taking steps to get more young people involved isn't going to improve anything unless they learn and follow the right way. Do you want more people on HF who don't know what "split" means? Do you really think that a single multiple choice question (with the answer marked no less) in a study guide is going to teach them what "split" is?
This is where having an 'older' ham population should prove advantageous, wouldn't you think? Since we've been around the block, shoudn't we know the right way to operate? Isn't it our obligation to make sure that younger hams getting started in the hobby know this and that it becomes ingrained in them? Second nature.
So, just because the numbers show that US hams are older than hams in other parts of the world, why not turn that into a positive? At one time it was called being an elmer. I hardly ever hear that term anymore. Maybe its taken on a bad connotation that I'm not aware of? Maybe it sounds old-fashioned and "square"? Incidentally, my 13 year old daughter hates it when I use the word "groovy", so, naturally, I take every opportunity to use it in front of her (Daddy, you're such a doofus). So maybe we need to find another word besides "elmer"? Maybe it is the "groovy" of ham radio? But the point is, so what if our average age is 10 years older than European hams? Can we not share the knowledge that we are supposed to have from our 'advanced age' to teach others and better the experience for all?
4 comments:
Personally I think this whole issue of the ageing ham population and youngsters not being interested is just a manifestation of people's desire to find something to moan about. It has never been easier for young people to get a ham license, and having done so it's much easier for them to get on the air, with things like 2m HT's within affordable reach of most 'teens.
As for the higher average age of contesters, I have a theory about that too. In Europe, the land of socialism ;-) there is legislation limiting the working week to 35 hours. So more people of working age here have time for hobbies, while you guys are still slaving away to keep that job and that all important health insurance card, and can only afford the luxury of a whole weekend contesting once you retire. :-) :-)
I suppose that "old" is completely relative and sometimes there is much value in the wise old owls.
But history seems to bear out that invention and innovation is a young man's game. I doubt we will see many new patents and breakthroughs in RF communication technology coming from retirees who hopefully are too busy enjoying their retirement!
And there is another downside to this advancing age problem -- mass extinction. The amateur service can absorb the losses through aging of, say, 5,000 hams a year because that many new ones seem to trickle into the service.
When we eventually begin losing hams at the rate of 20 or 30 thousand a year, it will become impossible to backfill those numbers no matter what we try to do.
I believe that amateur radio in the United states can survive with only 300,000 hams (half the number we have today) but I'm just guessing that there won't be room in the market for Kenwood, Icom, Yaesu, TenTec, etc. when that happens.
So like everything else in these United States, the future is going to be about getting by with a lot less than we have become accustomed to. And I don't think there is anything wrong with that at all.
73 de Jeff, KE9V
I always felt that amateur radio was a great leveller that bridges generations and continents alike. It has promoted understanding and friendships between individuals that would never in normal day to day life even come in contact with each other. If only we could get the world talking maybe one day there will be peace in this world.
There have been downsides to friendships formed over the air. I have lost count of the number of seriously smart and wonderfully generous people I have said good-bye to while chocking back the tears as the 'Last Post' plays.
I wish some of those guys and gals were still around today to guide the modern youngsters, who are just getting into the hobby, the way they guided me when I was first licensed.
In my area we seem to have our fair share of youngsters taking up the hobby along with older folk looking for a new hobby to keep them occupied during pending retirement. There seems to be a massive gap in between the two groups here.
The problem here is there are a lots of young operators who call so persistently in a long monotone "I am bored" voice on the VHF/UHF calling frequencies and repeaters that long established amateurs are turning off in droves. The novice licence has attracted them but they have been under taught and only learned what is in 'the book' and what is in the exam. When you tackle them for their poor operating technique they respond that they were not told that on the novice course. The problem may just be local to me and caused because some poor amateur operators in the area are running novice courses. What can you do? They are poor operators and are passing on their bad habits to their students but at least they are doing their bit in trying to promote the hobby.
I think maybe when people talk of Elmer everyone thinks of Elmer Fudd and it generates the wrong impression but amateurs are being put off becoming Elmers not by the name but due to conception that anyone who wants to talk to young people has an ulterior motive and is some kind of pervert. Inviting a teenager into your spare bedroom to twiddle your knobs could get you into a lot of trouble.
Age doesn't mean much to me. I think I fall in the middle being in my mid 40's and licensed just since 2007. I might have more contesting experience in that time then some hams that have been operating 40 years. Age doesn't matter.
I have demonstrated digital modes to the club and helped get others interested in a different mode then they've previously used. Age doesn't matter.
Everyone has something to offer someone else. I have learned a tremendous amount from those in my club regardless of their age. I hope they've learned something from me as well.
Someone's age has nothing to do with value nor does it necessarily have anything to do with experience. It is nothing more then a measure of time. What someone has accomplished and is willing to share, no matter what age or time in the hobby is what matters. When there's a way to calculate that let me know.
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