Was Scouting a victim of increasing, material wealth?

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I was watching a four-minute video on Youtube where the presenter discussed the reasons why "Backpack Camping" is an endangered species in many Boy Scouting programs and how to "bring it back".

There are a multitude of reasons.

One of them was the hollowing-out of mid-range adventures. Most camping, while still in tents, involves one of the leaders bringing a trailer that was a warehouse for back-up gear. On the more challenging end, the short jaunts from the troop's home-base to a place where they could camp evaporated. That results in a large jump from camping that was only slightly more challenging than staying in a Holiday Inn to a four-hour ride in a car or even having to fly in a plane. That is a pretty intimidating introduction to carrying you home on your back.

Another reason is that no scout shall ever be left alone with an adult leader, ever. That automatically doubled the number of leaders required to do any activity. A shortage of adult volunteers had always been a limiting factor. Trying to line up enough adults whose work and family schedules allowed them to sally-forth into the wilderness with a bunch of young hooligans at the same time squared the difficulty of that challenge.

The scheduling challenge is compounded by the 24/7 nature of our economy. "Professionals" and "Trades" now have to work shifts that can be any day of the week and any block of times within that week. Often, those work hours are dynamic, meaning that the employer can CHANGE them to meet their business needs. I worked one job where I worked 11 hour shifts, day shift Friday and Saturday, night shift Sunday and Monday. I had a one-hour commute on each end of those shifts.

A third major reason is that the United States is vastly richer today than it was in the 1960s. Back then, most 6th grade kids in Michigan had never been outside the state. Now, many 6th graders have been to the east coast or California. Many of them have been outside of the country. Scouting is now just one activity among scores of competing activities for that age-slot.

That richness in material goods also absorbs more potential volunteers. The father who might have pitch-hit as an assistant scout master on a camp-out is now flying to Myrtle Beach to play golf or has a 24' fishing boat on Lake Michigan.

It is probably worth noting that in 1972 nobody was comparing the standard mishaps of young campers to the highly edited perfection of the internet influencers. Back then, you could comfort young campers by telling them that everybody ate scrambled pancakes, that bacon tastes better with wood-ash on it and, while it had its disadvantages, soaping the inside of the pan with dish detergent did make them easier to clean. The goal in camping was not to score a Netfix contract but simply to do slightly better than the last effort. 

One factor that the presenter does not discuss is the fragmentation of the family. Suppose you are not married to the mother of your two, shared children and she has custody. On your weekends, you are responsible for both of them. Who is going to watch the other child if you go hiking with the one who is a scout?

A factor that was brought up in the comments is how expensive the backpacking gear is. I am skeptical about that claim. Boots and apparel are MUCH cheaper, after inflation, than they were in the 1960s and 1970s. Backpacks might be about the same but the quality and features outstrip anything that was available back then. Tents might be slightly more expensive but now but they roll-up into a package smaller than a folded US flag and have mosquito netting, integral floors and functional rain-flies. Three times the functionality and one-third the weight.

I am curious to see what the presenter's next video tells us.