Who is the biggest culprit?

[WWGjohn]

I see five main factors contributing to the decline in collecting interest.

1) The proliferation of price guides which led to increased emphasis on collecting for monetary value.

2) The explosion of card sets beginning in the 80's and the emergence of "premium" cards that killed a lot of collector interest.

3) The emergence of TPG which magnified even more, the emphasis on collecting for monetary value. They created artificial/imaginary guidelines for determining value, that bore almost no resemblance to grading standards that had been in existence for decades prior to their emergence.

4) The rise of the internet and the demise of the local card shop. Availability of cards by auction on Ebay and later, other sources led to the gradual disappearance of the card shop. With that went the opportunity for people/kids to be introduced to cards, first hand, to get knowledge of the hobby and see a variety of cards in person, and learn from people concerned with the hobby aspect of collecting.

5) The rise of the internet, electronic gadgets, and social media that offer people/kids many more entertainment options besides traditional hobbies, and require less thoughtful engagement.

None of these factors by themselves is responsible for the drop in collecting interest, but combined, they have created an atmosphere that is not conducive to developing a reflective hobby interest where the focus is on the intrinsic value of the collectible as opposed to the monetary value. Our attention span is truly shrinking.