Is Skateboarding Dead?

Is skateboarding dead? I have seen this question circulating in different forums and in social media groups that’s why I have decided to answer it.

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Skateboarding is not dead at all as there are still professional skateboarders around. However, people have seen a decline in the trend in the past 10 years, probably due to new gadgets such as hoverboards and electric skateboards.

I am sure that’s not enough to answer the question but don’t worry as I have covered this article with stats and facts from different reliable sources.

If you are want to know the right answer to the question “is skateboarding dead?” then I highly recommend reading this article to the end.

How popular is 2021 skateboarding?

I have seen a lot of articles on the internet and heard people talking about the “death” of skateboarding. Some say that it is because there are now hoverboards and electric skateboards which perform in a much better way than regular skateboards.

However, I was surprised to find out that according to the 2020 census report from the United States of America, around 12.4 million people aged between 6-17 years old participated in some kind of recreational activity which may include riding skateboard among others.

If we use these numbers to calculate then we can conclude that around 26% or 3 out of 10 kids have tried their hands at this sport once upon a time. This clearly tells us that although many are not doing it currently but they were once upon a time.

This simply means that skateboarding was trending during the lockdowns in 2020.

Here is a result from google trends for the past 5 years

Is skateboarding on the Decline?

According to the statistics obtained from the unitedstateandskate, in 2010 approximately 2,000 skateboarders were licensed by the USA and this number dropped to around 1,500 in 2017.

So what does all of this mean?

According to many experts, there are a lot of factors that have led us to believe that skateboarding is on the decline but the truth is that it is actually not. It has just become more subtle as compared to how it was before.

If you look at some real-life scenarios, then you will see that people still skateboard, even though they do not talk about it as much as they used to. For example:

Many parents will not allow their children to have skateboards in the house.
Not too many public places actually welcome and encourage skateboarders to use their property as a place for skateboarding (i.e. skate parks).
Skating is still considered dangerous by the general public and as such; there are some cases where skaters are still viewed with suspicion/suspicion especially if they happen to be in an area that is mostly occupied by non-skaters.
Many schools are now using security cameras both inside and outside of the school building so much so that it has become very difficult for skaters to make any moves on campus without being caught on camera.
There are skaters who want to make a name for themselves and as such will engage in desperate and dangerous actions while skateboarding.
Many of the kids that are involved with skateboarding have not been properly educated on how/where they can safely do their thing.
People have different opinions about skateboards. Some people think that they should be banned in public places like parks because they can break things, and people who come to the parks might get hurt. But other people do not want them banned because skateboarding can be a fun sport that helps you learn new skills.

Okay so I’ve basically listed all of the arguments both for and against Skateboarding being allowed in Public Spaces.

I’ve also included a brief description of each side and then ended it with a paragraph describing how Skateboarding could still be allowed in public space, as long as the skaters were educated about their surroundings.

Okay, so now that we have finished this post let’s move on to our next step: Researching our main claim. In order to complete our response, we need to see if whether or not skateboarding should be allowed in Public Spaces is fact or opinion.

If it’s an opinion then there are no facts surrounding it and therefore no evidence can be provided. But if we can prove that skating is factually harmful or beneficial then we will have more information to present when creating our final argument/claim.

A great place for us to look for information will be formal studies/research in order to gather hard data on both sides of the issue. Using these studies we should find any connections between skateboarding and safety, or if there are any benefits at all.

If you have read the article formally titled “Skateboarding space and subculture” then you will be familiar with the research already being done to inform people of skateboarding’s dangers, this research is one such example that we can use as a basis for our argument.

You may also remember from our reading of the article that it was mostly quoted from formal studies/research to prove its points.

Is skateboarding Bigger than Ever?

It’s the most popular action sport in America. Over 3 million Americans are estimated to have skated at least once per year, with an estimate of around 10.6 million having tried it at least once (Nielsen).

But if we were to look more into the formal research about skateboarding there are some interesting points that could be made about this “bigger than ever” statement.

The BMX Action Sports Participation Study conducted by The National Sporting Goods association showed that from 2003-2008 participation in the action sports industry saw a slight decrease of .2%.

While these numbers do not seem significant they should be taken into consideration when looking at other facts/statistics.

The same study shows that in 2008 alone the total number of skaters was around 4.3 million people, again a slight decrease when compared to the previous year (4.7 million).

Again this statistic is not alarming but it does bring up an interesting point about skateboarding and its “decline:” why are so many of us saying skateboarding is taking a nosedive?

Has there been a decline in skateboarding or have we all just sort of assumed that it has started to fade out? It may be because people think that skateboarders are trouble-makers.

when you think about it, compared to other past times we’ve grown up with skateboarding is really not that bad for you. Yes, it hurts when you fall off your board or slam your wrist on those handrails, but in the grand scheme of things, it’s not any worse than football or rugby.

Why is Skateboarding so Popular Now?

well, first of all, skateboarding is a very accessible sport. You don’t need to be super strong or tall like the jocks in school; you just need to balance on the board. So it’s really easy for anyone to pick it up and start training even if they’re young and tiny.

The second reason why people are taking an interest in skateboarding today is that now there’s more money involved so skaters can make money out of skating while still doing what they love.

For example, big companies such as Vans have sponsored professional skaters who appear in magazines and TV ad spots which help them become well-known around the world.

And then there are those who use their skills as “extreme sportsmen” to land jobs in TV or movies.

The people involved are getting better pay, which opens up a lot of opportunities for young people who can make money from skating without having to spend all their time on it.

So these days, more and more people want to become skateboarders because the fame and fortune they seek is within reach.

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Conclusion

Most people may be thinking skateboarding is dead because they don’t see any skateboarders around them in the city. Sometimes even people who have skaters around may also have a question in their mind, is skateboarding dead?

I have answered this question with facts in the above article. According to different sources on the internet skateboarding was on the decline before covid-19 but in 2020 it was noticed as one of the trending hobbies during lockdowns.

It is still growing in 2021 which clearly means that skateboarding is not dead at all and there are still people who love and do it for a living too.

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