The average ham in 1960 was 28. Today the average ham is over 50.
Hams are getting older, and many of us view this fact with alarm.
Some of the alarm springs from a feeling of being swept along by forces that we do not understand. It is a paralyzing, helpless kind of feeling that puts a shadow upon our view of the hobby’s future. Over and over, we hear the question, “Is Ham Radio becoming obsolete?”
It’s not quite that bad.
To understand what has caused the average age of ham radio operators to climb over the half-century or so – just follow the money.
In the 1960′s basic electronics could easily carry you into a good paying job. Since ham radio was a gateway to employment, then it was natural that the average ham in that era would be either a young upwardly mobile adult, or a teenager who was preparing for the job market. When you add in the older hams of the era, the average age climbs – but not by much.
Today, knowledge of basic electronics along with a dollar or so will get you a cup of coffee almost anywhere… It is still requisite knowledge for many professions, but the great majority of the meat ‘n potatoes jobs like TV or CB repair shops that used to employ many thousands of electronics techs all over the country are simply no longer there.
Electronics has advanced to the point where an electronic repair shop in every hamlet is no longer economically viable. – It’s the same thing with the auto mechanics that used to be everywhere. The cars are more reliable and last longer – so you don’t see so many auto mechanics as you used to, and service stations morphed into gas stations, then convenience stores as you can’t really get by, just selling gas like you could back in the 60′s.
The money in amateur radio today is in the baby boomer generation. Most new hams today are older hams.
In our discussions, it seems like sooner or later we will always hear some depraved comment about how the OF ( Old Fart ) hams who populate amateur radio today are all going to drop dead, and the hobby will die with them if we don’t get some of the kids excited about ham radio.
There are two great big, gaping logic holes in this reasoning:
( 1 ) Those old hams keep dying all the time – but somehow they still retain the majority! – This is only a mystery if you do not understand that a steady stream of new OF’s are constantly replacing the ones who have become silent keys. Most new hams today are boomers. It is this constant renewal that supports amateur radio today because:
( 2 ) Kids are nice – but they are not joining the hobby in any great numbers, and never have. It should also be recognized that in following the money, there’s no point looking at a kid when there is an established retiree on hand. – Get the picture?
So most of these discussions about hams getting older, where all the hand-wringing about the kids goes on – is a load of sentimental horse-hockey, based upon an erroneous assumption. – GIGO.
Sure the average age of amateur radio operators has climbed considerably since the 1960′s… We would have been out of business by now, if it hadn’t.
It’s a very good thing that most hams today are old coots, and the influence of children upon our continued success in this particular day and age is ( pardon the pun ) minor at best.
It may be several decades before things start to change, as the age of the average ham starts to be somewhat younger. In the mean-time, I for one think it is kind of dumb to castigate and ignore our primary source of new amateurs while we get all gooey over the age group that has the very least to do with amateur radio’s growth today.
Every time you hear about some bright idea for bringing children into the hobby, it might be a good idea to ask, “What are you doing to bring in the boomers?”
That’s where the numbers and the money are. That’s also where you look today to find people who understand the magic of radio communications, and who are much better prepared to appreciate and participate in the fraternal, social aspect of amateur radio.
We should of course always encourage people of all ages and walks of life around the world to participate in amateur radio. – Nobody should ever be excluded or discouraged; That’s not our style.
When almost all of our discussion about growth focuses upon youth though, overlooking and ignoring our most active and productive demographic ( boomers ) – it strikes me that this is most unfair to the majority of hams today, and to the hobby in general as it misdirects both our attention and our resources.
So I guess the question today is, “What are we doing to bring in the boomers?”
