[CQ-Contest] Why Are European Contesters Younger?

[Franki ON5ZO]

> 2. The abundance of PSP,s playstations and other distractions
> found in america are certainly less than in Europe.

I assume you mean less abundance in EU?
As an educator teaching 17-18-19 year old kids, I can see / say that in EU 
there is as much PSP, Wii, PS 1/2/3, X-Box and (online) PC gaming as 
anywhere else.

The thesis that "EU contesters are younger than USA contesters", does NOT 
mean that the average age of the EU op is that of a teenager or someone in 
its early 20ies!
The counter just hit 34 here and I'm certainly one of the youngest of the 
pack!

That said, I see that many efforts and campaigns focus their recruiting 
energy on youngsters. I think people in their late 20ies are more open to 
ham radio than teenagers. If someone had introduced me to ham radio when I 
was 16-18, I would NOT have been interested, to put it mildly. I got my 
first license at the age of 24 (almost 10 years ago...). I got bored with 
partying and going out at that age and traded school for a job. Ham radio 
gave me a good reason to stay at home in my free time yet do something 
interesting.

73 de Franki ON5ZO