Why are so many nudists older?

[johnw]

I dont understand why so many nudists are older. I have wanted to be one for a long time however due to the age difference I haven't experienced anything until about 2 months ago when FYN held an event at sunsport. I was the 118th young person there that weekend so it is clear there is interest but unfortunately only twice a year. I am looking forward to going back in August however I have a bad fear there will be terrible rain or something and then I would have to wait until next april. I wish there were more events like that one.

[DragonSoldier07]

From my experience is a) disposable income and b) those insecurities about one's body tend to disappear after time, allowing people to go nude w/o care.  Primarily I think it is reason A more so than B.  I have problems getting the family to nudist places because we are busy raising the daughter and working a time intensive job. 

-Felix 

[blober07]

 

Disposable income is a huge factor, and an even bigger factor is disposable time.  Retired people don't have to worry about finding a job, paying off student loans, dating, or anything else that younger people have to deal with.  As such, they have more time and more accumulated wealth to be able travel and enjoy spending time in the nude.  You'll find plenty of younger nudists out there, but they just don't have the time or the resources to travel to a nudist resort or public beach.  And, depending on the location, they might not even have a nudist destination anywhere nearby.

It would be nice if more young people could be part of the nudist lifestyle, but older folks will always have the time and resources to be able to enjoy it more often.  I've never really minded though, most of the retired/semi-retired nudists I've talked to are actually really cool!  You can never be too old to stop having fun!

[F0x]

I dont think that there are more older nudists necessarily, but as stated above, they have the money/time etc. to go to the beaches. I know tons of my friends who enjoy being nude around the house etc. We even made a facebook group and we have over 100 members so I think it is mainly time/money that keeps us from the nudist resorts.

[rc]

  plus you figure theres not a lot of long nudists cause of how bodies are changing and all of the young adult socail pressures

[JA]

Having nude beaches closer to urban areas would almost certainly help to attract young people, especially here in Melbourne

[Dario Western]

It comes down to budgeting your time as well as money.  Read the book 'The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People' by Steven R. Covey sometime and he talks about giving your time to things that really do matter in your life.  Nudism is a part of leisure, which is an important aspect of our lives.

To be a part of any movement, be it a chess society, or a sci-fi group, or any other hobbyist leisure group demands a certain aspect of your time and money and you need to have some foresight into how you're going to spend it.

There are young adults out there who complain that a nudist place is too far for them to travel, but if there is a rock festival on which is hundreds of kms out of town with their favourite bands on the bill that they don't get to see otherwise they'll be there in a flash.  So this talk that they don't have an income or means to get about is hogwash.

Having said that, we need to have some nudist youth clubs held in venues which are central to town or close to town like the YMCAs did up until the 1960's (even though it was sex segregated).  We need some young entrepeneurs who are in touch with what makes young people tick regarding leisure and entertainment and applying the same promotional tactics to the nudist world.

If you make it exclusive and traditional 'sit back and chill out and do nothing all weekend', you will not get young people interested.  They like rumbunctious games, loud music, meeting new people - something that's going to get their adrenalisne and nervous energy burnt off.  If you don't provide it for them, they'll go elsewehere to enjoy themselves.

[Popcorntreect]

I don't think it's a money issue. I think young people are still hung up on their bodies while more old people have a "just don't care anymore" attitude.

[AuFiat]

If you make it exclusive and traditional 'sit back and chill out and do nothing all weekend', you will not get young people interested.  They like rumbunctious games, loud music, meeting new people - something that's going to get their adrenalisne and nervous energy burnt off.  If you don't provide it for them, they'll go elsewehere to enjoy themselves.

I totally agree with that statement. I second guess going to clubs, not because I wouldn't like them (obviously), but because it would seem boring or less exciting compared to what I could be doing. This is a list of activities that I got from a nearby club:

-Volleyball             -Horseshoes
-Shuffleboard         -Carpet Ball
-Whirlpool              -Swimming Pond
-Pool table             -Children's Playground
-Weekend Snack Bar-Picnic Spots
-Hot Showers         -Dump StationElectric/Water Hookups
-Three Motel Rooms  -Petanque (An enjoyable game similar to Bocce Ball)
-Frisbee Golf

Aside from vollyball & swimming, I couldn't imagine enjoying myself given the options. I believe the truth is that older folks may like those activities, but younger folks generally don't. If resorts/clubs are to survive, they need to invest into activities that appeal to the younger generation. I realize it comes down to cost and most of those activities cost very little upkeep, but still.

I believe young people don't go because there aren't other young people there. When there's such a generation gap, it can create an undesirable social situation for the minority. Would FYN have been as successful as it has been if it was just FN? It would probably be filled with a bunch of older people. IMO.

* I was checking out floridayoungnaturists.com and discovered that membership is only $15/year. I would hit that up right away!

[Storm29]

I agree, the activities at resorts are kind of laid back, if not boring, and I'm sometimes bored at resorts. I love being naked, but I also like being a little more active, so I usually bring my mountain bike to the resort I usually go to, where there's a few nice trails. I can only take so much of sitting around the pool reading a magazine. Most of the people I've met at resorts are really nice, but meeting people around my age is so much more fun, though it doesn't happen often.

[ComputationJason]

I also tend to think that older people have less going on.  They don't have as much social interaction and if anything enjoy the social aspect of naturism.

Young people find themselves dumped into school with groups of peers that are always changing, and they also have a pop culture that is ready to cater to them.

Young people don't have the social isolation of years of working 9 to 5 with the same people, while being perfectly content to only spend time with their spouse.

FYN looks like a really cool organization.  It takes a lot of vision to make that kind of thing happen.

[MikeSG]

They are from the 60's/70's free love pop culture. 

[blober07]

The last few times that I went out to the beach, it actually seemed like there were a lot more young people than usual - the older folks weren't as big of a majority like I remember last year.  I don't know if it has to do with the culture of Portland, but it seems like nudism is becoming more popular among younger generations.  I'm going to attend the world record skinny dip this Saturday (and the weather is going to be nice, so a ton of people should be there), so that will give me a better idea of just how many younger people there actually are!

[cc]

It seems to me that most nudists are older at least from what i've seen.

[kiwi]

It's definitely majority older folk here in New Zealand. I think it's a combination of all of the factors you've all mentioned - time, money, excuses, self-image, society, the 60's and the culture of the clubs.

But I think one of the biggest factors is simply the fact that is already a majority older crowd that visit nudist places. Nobody likes to feel like a minority, be it by age, race, sexuality or any other factor. And self concious young people are more likely to notice and feel that they are a minority than older people. Add that to the fact that most people first contemplating any kind of public or social naturism will likely be feeling more self concious simply at the idea of being nude, and I think that being in a minority of age is a major put-off for a lot of young would-be naturists.

I think that's why events like you mentioned, JohnW, are so popular - because they allow those people to be in an environment where they're not a minority any more, which somehow feels safer, especially when you're "exposing yourself" for the first time.