Many people lament that there is not enough interest in Ham radio by
young people.

There are often many reasons given for this deficiency, and somewhat
less "fixes".

One of the reasons that is given very often is that Amateur radio is in
some sort of competition with the Internet. Let us look at this theory.

What is the competition between the two? In order to use the internet,
one must of course have a computer. It must be connected to the
internet, through one of several methods. Once the person has learned to
turn on the computer, open a few programs or so, they have the
necessary skills to work the internet.

Amateur radio on the other hand, requires that a radio be used, which
requires some skill in operating. An antenna system needs to be
connected to this radio. Whereas it is possible to have everything set
up for the Ham, most young people do not have the resources to have
someone set up their system. Coupled with the possibility of putting an
antenna in operation that only costs a few dollars, or even less if the
youngster has good scrounging skills, the likelihood is that they would
design and put up their own antenna, another skill needed.

So there is a large difference in the skills needed for the two hobbies.

Cell phones as competition? While there is a temptation to snipe "Get
Real!", I'll address those too.

What would make a person decide to take up Cell phone use as a hobby?
Cell phones allow you to talk to people that you know (for the most
part) and operate in the same manner as a regular telephone, save that
you take the cell with you, and you are generally tied in the same
building with a standard telephone. It's hard to imagine someone doing
that as a hobby, although there are a lot of people who spend a lot of
time using them.

So what makes a youngster decide to become a Ham?

We can try using the input of those who became Hams at a young age.
Most of what I have heard is that the person was very interested in the
technical aspects involved with getting on the air. Making antennas,
building rigs, and getting them on the air was a big part of the attraction.

In the end, I believe that it is young people that have a technical
interest that will likely become Hams.

And that, I believe, is the crux of the issue.

America is not a place that encourages those who might be thinking of a
technical career. We have a tendency to encourage a more "pop culture"
outlook, which as often as not discounts actual learning for "street
cred", and actually turns the smart person into an object of ridicule.
There are levels, and there are levels. If a person is intelligent, and
wants a good livelihood, you will find careers that are acceptable. You
can be a movie star, or perhaps a lawyer. A whole spectrum follows, but
engineering and the technical fields are not very high on that list.

How often is the Techie portrayed as a sort of Bill Nye, the science
guy type (at best). How about the smart woman who takes off her glasses
and suddenly becomes the hot babe? Professor Frink on "The Simpsons"?
Pop culture is not kind to the technical types.

My experiences with programs like "bring your sons and daughters to
work day" shows that almost none of the kids is even thinking of a
technical field. A lot want to be lawyers.

Once in the past, we were scared into thinking that maybe science and
technology was maybe not such a bad thing. That happened when the
commies launched Sputnik. Suddenly it seemed important that at least
some of our kids decided to work in the sciences. Hopefully we will
decide that again without having to be shocked into it.

I am pretty firmly convinced that until we stop catering to the least
common denominator, until we stop marginalizing the technically and
scientifically inclined, we will not find many youngsters who want to
come into our hobby.

- Mike KB3EIA -