Does Biophobia Hurt Golf?

[WUTiger]

According to environmental scientists, Americans may be developing a fear of nature. And, psychiatrists have defined a new mental disorder: natural environment phobia. Other related items:

• Visits to national parks have steadily declined the past few years,
• Studies suggest that US children spend less than 30 minutes a week playing outdoors.

Could this contribute to the fall-off in people interested in playing golf? Are TST bloggers scaring away potential golfers with pictures of alligators on the fairway, or the one avatar of a bear chasing golfers?

To get the basics on biophobia, read this:

Spoiler

Making room for nature in our lives

BY JAMES CAMPBELL
Los Angeles Times

The childhood I had wandering through the woods and fields near my home unsupervised from morning until dark today seems like a lost world. Many children now spend less than 30 minutes per week playing outside.

It’s not just kids and their preoccupation with iPads and video games, or busy streets and “stranger danger” that is fueling the disinclination to get outdoors. It’s a widespread phenomenon. Grown-ups fare little better. Statistics from the Environmental Protection Agency suggest that adults, too, spend 93 percent of their lives inside buildings or vehicles, living under what nature writer Richard Louv calls “protective house arrest.”

 

 

Are we as Americans actually losing our connection to the outdoors? Conservation ecologist Patricia Zaradic of the Environmental Leadership Program and conservation biologist Oliver Pergams of the University of Illinois at Chicago have documented a disturbing trend of declining per-capita visits to national parks and forests, drops in hunting and fishing licenses and other sliding indicators of nature recreation since the late 1980s. They see at work a fundamental cultural shift away from nature.

Other researchers and environmental psychologists think these trends are, in some cases, even rising to the level of an unreasonable phobia. A growing number of Americans, they say, are suffering from “biophobia,” a “prejudice against nature,” or what the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders categorizes as “natural environment phobia.”

Biophobia research traditionally focused on specific categories of fears — such as darkness, heights or animals, especially snakes and spiders. Recently, however, researchers whose findings were published in the Journal of Environmental Psychology discovered that modern-day fears of the natural world have no such locus. In children especially, anxiety can be evoked by the most unexceptional circumstances: a flock of noisy birds or a strong wind.

After reviewing the scientific literature in 2010, a group of psychologists making recommendations for the DSM-V determined that 82 percent of the people diagnosed with natural environment phobia exhibited a preoccupation with the “danger or harm” they might experience in nature.

How did we get to the point where reasonable fears — say about a mountain lion seen near a running trail — blow up into generalized phobias about nature? How did parents who freely wandered outside become so anxious about their kids doing the same? Surely, we as parents are complicit in our kids’ giving the wonder of the outdoors the cold shoulder.

One of the great American conservationists, Aldo Leopold, knew something about getting his children outside. The Leopolds kept a “shack,” a rebuilt chicken coop, on land along the Wisconsin River. I recently took a guided tour of Leopold’s simple shack and noted that this was a location for family getaways. It’s one of the things that distinguished him from the solitary Henry David Thoreau. Leopold and his wife, Estella, and their five kids fished, hunted, explored, tended a garden, cut firewood, restored native prairie and planted trees — together. Leopold and Estella certainly had never heard of natural environment phobia, but they did notice that when their children returned from their outings, they were physically and emotionally renewed by their contact with the outside world. They were happier.

A growing body of evidence corroborates the Leopolds’ observation that daily “green exercise” can produce rapid improvements in mental wellbeing and self-esteem; boost problem-solving skills, cooperation, focus and self-discipline; and reduce aggression.

Perhaps more parents should take a lesson from the Leopolds. Though most of us do not have our own riverfront land, we can find a nearby park or a trail. Getting outside and breaking the stranglehold of electronics — on ourselves as much as our kids — requires a concerted effort. And yet it’s worth it to make room for nature in our lives, especially as parents. By spending time in nature with our children, we teach them that we value two things: being with them and the natural world.

James Campbell is the author of “Braving It: A Father, A Daughter, and an Unforgettable Journey into the Alaskan Wild” and “The Final Frontiersman: Heimo Korth and His Family, Alone in Alaska’s Wilderness.” He wrote this for the Los Angeles Times.

 

 

Let me know if you think biophobia hurts the growth of golf! 

[woodzie264]

I think the world is becoming more wussified as we speak. But I don't think it's hurting golf. I think the shrinking attention spans of Americans along with their growing impatience and the cost to play are far bigger impediments to our game's growth.

[Patch]

Just my opinion, but just about every slow down in participation of any endeaver that involves buying a ticket is because of the price of the ticket. This includes golf.

Yes kids could play more outside, but those hand held games are just "too cool" as one my Grand Daughters put it. 

As for national parks they have been in trouble for quite a while. If not for the pacific rim, european, and canadian visitors, quite a few could close down with out a notice by Americans. Quite a few NPs doubled most of their fees January 1st. Pretty sure that stop folks from visiting parks. 

Call it what it is, "costaphobia"

Edited August 6, 2016 by Patch

[Gator Hazard]

15 minutes ago, WUTiger said:

According to environmental scientists, Americans may be developing a fear of nature. And, psychiatrists have defined a new mental disorder: natural environment phobia. Other related items:

• Visits to national parks have steadily declined the past few years,
• Studies suggest that US children spend less than 30 minutes a week playing outdoors.

Could this contribute to the fall-off in people interested in playing golf? Are TST bloggers scaring away potential golfers with pictures of alligators on the fairway, or the one avatar of a bear chasing golfers?

To get the basics on biophobia, read this:

  Reveal hidden contents

Making room for nature in our lives

 

BY JAMES CAMPBELL
Los Angeles Times

The childhood I had wandering through the woods and fields near my home unsupervised from morning until dark today seems like a lost world. Many children now spend less than 30 minutes per week playing outside.

It’s not just kids and their preoccupation with iPads and video games, or busy streets and “stranger danger” that is fueling the disinclination to get outdoors. It’s a widespread phenomenon. Grown-ups fare little better. Statistics from the Environmental Protection Agency suggest that adults, too, spend 93 percent of their lives inside buildings or vehicles, living under what nature writer Richard Louv calls “protective house arrest.”

 

 

 

Are we as Americans actually losing our connection to the outdoors? Conservation ecologist Patricia Zaradic of the Environmental Leadership Program and conservation biologist Oliver Pergams of the University of Illinois at Chicago have documented a disturbing trend of declining per-capita visits to national parks and forests, drops in hunting and fishing licenses and other sliding indicators of nature recreation since the late 1980s. They see at work a fundamental cultural shift away from nature.

Other researchers and environmental psychologists think these trends are, in some cases, even rising to the level of an unreasonable phobia. A growing number of Americans, they say, are suffering from “biophobia,” a “prejudice against nature,” or what the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders categorizes as “natural environment phobia.”

Biophobia research traditionally focused on specific categories of fears — such as darkness, heights or animals, especially snakes and spiders. Recently, however, researchers whose findings were published in the Journal of Environmental Psychology discovered that modern-day fears of the natural world have no such locus. In children especially, anxiety can be evoked by the most unexceptional circumstances: a flock of noisy birds or a strong wind.

After reviewing the scientific literature in 2010, a group of psychologists making recommendations for the DSM-V determined that 82 percent of the people diagnosed with natural environment phobia exhibited a preoccupation with the “danger or harm” they might experience in nature.

How did we get to the point where reasonable fears — say about a mountain lion seen near a running trail — blow up into generalized phobias about nature? How did parents who freely wandered outside become so anxious about their kids doing the same? Surely, we as parents are complicit in our kids’ giving the wonder of the outdoors the cold shoulder.

One of the great American conservationists, Aldo Leopold, knew something about getting his children outside. The Leopolds kept a “shack,” a rebuilt chicken coop, on land along the Wisconsin River. I recently took a guided tour of Leopold’s simple shack and noted that this was a location for family getaways. It’s one of the things that distinguished him from the solitary Henry David Thoreau. Leopold and his wife, Estella, and their five kids fished, hunted, explored, tended a garden, cut firewood, restored native prairie and planted trees — together. Leopold and Estella certainly had never heard of natural environment phobia, but they did notice that when their children returned from their outings, they were physically and emotionally renewed by their contact with the outside world. They were happier.

A growing body of evidence corroborates the Leopolds’ observation that daily “green exercise” can produce rapid improvements in mental wellbeing and self-esteem; boost problem-solving skills, cooperation, focus and self-discipline; and reduce aggression.

Perhaps more parents should take a lesson from the Leopolds. Though most of us do not have our own riverfront land, we can find a nearby park or a trail. Getting outside and breaking the stranglehold of electronics — on ourselves as much as our kids — requires a concerted effort. And yet it’s worth it to make room for nature in our lives, especially as parents. By spending time in nature with our children, we teach them that we value two things: being with them and the natural world.

James Campbell is the author of “Braving It: A Father, A Daughter, and an Unforgettable Journey into the Alaskan Wild” and “The Final Frontiersman: Heimo Korth and His Family, Alone in Alaska’s Wilderness.” He wrote this for the Los Angeles Times.

 

 

Let me know if you think biophobia hurts the growth of golf! 

are you saying my avatar is scaring potential golfers away?

[WUTiger]

16 minutes ago, Gator Hazard said:

are you saying my avatar is scaring potential golfers away?

We'll let our colleagues be a judge of that! 

[Jeremie Boop]

I'm not saying it's not true, but the idea of fearing nature... It's just ludicrous to me, I love nature. They seem to come up with new stuff that people can be diagnosed with every day.

That said, I had a pretty awesome experience today with nature. Right behind the school where I work there was a hawk just chilling eating a mouse. He started off facing away but saw a bunch of us gawking at him and started showing off, throwing his mouse in the air and picking it back up.

How anyone could have a fear of nature like that..... Just ridiculous, nature is beautiful.

[Rainmaker]

I call BS on it.  We have people visiting parks . .walking over the edges of cliffs, into traffic etc, to catch Pokemons with their phones.  They would walk across a bed of rattlesnakes into a bear's den to catch a rare Pokemon.  Lack of interest in golf and biophobia might be symptoms of the same disease . .but biophobia doesn't hurt golfdom (imo).

Edited August 6, 2016 by Rainmaker

[Papa Steve 55]

The first point, Nat'l Park attendance is in decline, is just wrong. They have set attendance records in each of the last two years. Simple Google search. The same internet explains why kids are indoors.

[chilepepper]

I wouldn't call it fear. Probably more laziness than anything. I'll blame it on "screens" computer, tablet, phone and tv. People can see , hear , learn and partially experience everything from mind bending mathematical equations to bizarre porn to polar bears. Why leave home

[boogielicious]

7 hours ago, Jeremie Boop said:

I'm not saying it's not true, but the idea of fearing nature... It's just ludicrous to me, I love nature. They seem to come up with new stuff that people can be diagnosed with every day.

That said, I had a pretty awesome experience today with nature. Right behind the school where I work there was a hawk just chilling eating a mouse. He started off facing away but saw a bunch of us gawking at him and started showing off, throwing his mouse in the air and picking it back up.

How anyone could have a fear of nature like that..... Just ridiculous, nature is beautiful.

We saw a coyote on the course on Tuesday. It was hunting something. 

[pganapathy]

People have such short attention spans that being outdoors is a chore that most people don't want.  Today they expect quick fixes for everything that nobody seems to be willing to work long at anything.  Golf requires what 6 hours for a full round and travel time and nobody is willing to put that in.  See the demand there is for a slimming pill.  Much better but much harder is "eat less, work out more" not the simple "pop a pill and be done".

Today's generation are too glued to their phone and laptop screens.  Pokémon GO at least has people walking.  Most others do not even do that.

Golf can't compete against this instant gratification, just like exercise can't.

[woodzie264]

9 hours ago, WUTiger said:

We'll let our colleagues be a judge of that! 

That's obsurd. If a stupid picture of an alligator on a fairway scares people away from golf, they obviously have major underlying issues already or a gross misunderstanding of reality

[Shindig]

We need a version of Pokemon Go for golf.

Birdies: Gotta Make 'em All

[jkelley9]

57 minutes ago, Shindig said:

We need a version of Pokemon Go for golf.

Birdies: Gotta Make 'em All

LOL. Nice one :)

I don't like to make assumptions about the general public when it comes to people and their perception of "nature" and "outdoors" but the first thing I look at nowadays when it comes to our cultural shifts is the smartphone, internet, and big data: With people bogged down in their phone 8+ hours a day watching videos and reading bogus articles by "journalists" they're watching/reading about animal attacks, crazy insects/snakes/spiders, landslides, floods, etc., not to mention the constant battle most people suffer with allergies, and skin cancers, and such. So I'm not surprised if their perception has been altered to "avoid" the outdoors.

Really though, it's probably because people nowadays are more interested in having a "blog" personality rather than a real one. They live their lives in this "timeline" garbage on social media and that brings too much (fake) value to their lives. Makes me sick. That stuff is great in moderation. But a LOT of people are taking it way too far.

When people ask me how hard it was getting a degree in engineering sometimes I've gotten a little catty tell them "it wasn't as hard as for the people with their faces buried in their phones 8 hours a day."

As for golf, I can tell you my wife won't touch it because of "<insert whiney voice> it's to hottttttt, I don't want to get all sweatyyyyyy." Kind of embarrassing. I love going out and sweating it out, it feels purifying, burns calories, vitamin D, etc.

[iacas]

12 hours ago, WUTiger said:

• Visits to national parks have steadily declined the past few years,
• Studies suggest that US children spend less than 30 minutes a week playing outdoors.

national parks attendance

That's what I Googled. The resulting snippet at the top looks like this:

If that's too small: "the sites hosted a record-breaking 307.2 million visits in 2015"

5 hours ago, Papa Steve 55 said:

The first point, Nat'l Park attendance is in decline, is just wrong. They have set attendance records in each of the last two years. Simple Google search.

Yep.

I also don't think people are really afraid of nature. I think they just don't know what to do outside.

[Hookman]

As previously stated I think its primarily due to shorter attention spans, the price of playing, and the amount of time/effort you have to invest in the game. However I do think golf experienced a bit of a bubble from the late 90s through the 2000's and now golf is down to its previous level of interest. I think the sport can grow again but some people will never find long-term interest in it.

Edited August 6, 2016 by Hookman
typo

[Dave2512]

Golf's decline is mostly likely due to expense and time. Last 3 seasons I was a 80-100 rounds golfer this year I am maybe 3x a month. I had the jones before but now I don't. When I think about booking a time I weigh whether I'll actually enjoy it enough to justify the expense, $35 GF and a couple of beers is half my monthly internet bill.

I'm not even buying new balls this year and that's a first. I don't care enough to not play the decent balls I find on the course. I'm choosing rides in country on Sun afternoon over 4.5 hours rounds and sitting in my cart waiting on ball chasers, it's likely my last season. Can't remember the last time I actually finished 18 holes if I encounter any roadblocks I am out of there.

[ScouseJohnny]

The National Park data is interesting, when you look at it thoroughly. Yes, 2015 was a "record breaking year" for recreational visits, but the number of visits basically plateaued from around the start of the 1980s up until recently. Some years showed increases, others showed declines. I suppose if one considers that the US population in 1980 was 100 million people smaller than it is today, the plateauing is arguably represents a decline in use.

Data source.

Summary
		Year Reporting Units Recreation Visitors   1904 6 120,690   1905 6 140,954   1906 7 30,569   1907 7 32,935   1908 8 42,768   1909 8 60,899   1910 9 173,416   1911 11 194,207   1912 11 198,334   1913 11 216,853   1914 11 209,693   1915 12 314,299   1916 12 326,506   1917 13 453,498   1918 13 436,222   1919 20 781,178   1920 26 1,022,091   1921 28 1,101,697   1922 29 1,136,949   1923 33 1,364,024   1924 35 1,527,999   1925 39 1,900,499   1926 41 2,162,640   1927 41 2,465,058   1928 41 2,703,753   1929 44 3,010,912   1930 45 3,038,935   1931 46 3,217,674   1932 49 3,551,885   1933 52 3,255,684   1934 80 6,095,201   1935 85 7,435,659   1936 92 11,749,790   1937 102 14,838,640   1938 106 16,019,483   1939 109 15,141,032   1940 113 16,410,148   1941 141 20,487,633   1942 142 8,891,495   1943 142 6,383,513   1944 143 7,723,790   1945 143 10,855,548   1946 143 20,918,012   1947 144 24,258,527   1948 133 26,294,795   1949 134 29,124,837   1950 139 32,706,172   1951 142 36,613,178   1952 145 41,804,313   1953 148 45,679,754   1954 149 47,967,800   1955 150 48,891,000   1956 160 53,872,100   1957 162 58,220,600   1958 164 58,466,800   1959 164 62,834,000   1960 166 71,586,000   1961 169 78,933,900   1962 171 88,548,300   1963 173 101,959,800   1964 183 109,190,300   1965 182 118,662,500   1966 188 129,282,100   1967 195 135,414,200   1968 204 145,449,500   1969 211 159,130,500   1970 217 168,135,100   1971 225 151,265,400   1972 231 163,156,569   1973 243 166,572,300   1974 247 168,686,500   1975 251 188,085,700   1976 259 215,359,800   1977 259 209,370,600   1978 263 221,127,705   1979 271 205,369,795   1980 275 220,463,211   1981 280 238,592,669   1982 290 244,924,579   1983 294 243,619,396   1984 296 248,785,509   1985 303 263,441,808   1986 304 281,094,850   1987 305 287,244,998   1988 309 282,451,441   1989 314 269,399,837   1990 316 255,581,467   1991 319 267,840,999   1992 324 274,694,549   1993 327 273,120,925   1994 327 268,636,169   1995 328 269,564,307   1996 329 265,796,163   1997 336 275,236,335   1998 342 286,762,265   1999 341 287,130,879   2000 344 285,891,275   2001 345 279,873,926   2002 349 277,299,880   2003 353 266,230,290   2004 356 276,908,337   2005 356 273,488,751   2006 359 272,623,980   2007 360 275,581,547   2008 360 274,852,949   2009 360 285,579,941   2010 363 281,303,769   2011 367 278,939,216   2012 367 282,765,682   2013 370 273,630,895   2014 370 292,800,082   2015 372 307,247,252