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Does Biophobia Hurt Golf?


WUTiger
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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

image.ashx?kind=block&href=BND%2F2016%2F

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! :angry:

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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.

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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 by Patch

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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

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

are you saying my avatar is scaring potential golfers away?

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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! ;-)

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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.

2016-08-05 11.58.43.jpg2016-08-05 12.00.59.jpg2016-08-05 12.01.01.jpg

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

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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 by Rainmaker
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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.

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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

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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.

2016-08-05 11.58.43.jpg2016-08-05 12.00.59.jpg2016-08-05 12.01.01.jpg

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. 

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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.

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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

Driver: :callaway: Rogue ST  /  Woods: :tmade: Stealth 5W / Hybrid: :tmade: Stealth 25* / Irons: :ping: i500’s /  Wedges: :edel: 54*, 58*; Putter: :scotty_cameron: Futura 5  Ball: image.png Vero X1

 

 -Jonny

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We need a version of Pokemon Go for golf.

Birdies: Gotta Make 'em All

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  • iacas changed the title to Does Biophobia Hurt Golf?
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.

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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:

parks.png

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.

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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 by Hookman
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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.

Dave :-)

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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
     
 
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