My kids like kits but have interests in music, sports and hanging out with their friends. Priorities have changed. In the 60's, everybody built kits. In the 70's, many still did. When the hobby took a nosedive in the 80's, hobbyists went away.
Time is of the essence.
People have no time to make a special trip to the hobby shop or mall, even around the holidays. We save time by logging onto the net and ordering in a few easy steps from our favorite modeling websites, or slugging it out on ebay. Of course, it s always fun to go the modeling shows and try and find a few gems, but YOU must wait for these shows to come once or twice a year as scheduled. Collectible kits, which used to appeal to a minority of modelers, are now hot, as we try to get back what we once had. Prices have skyrocketed and so has aggravation in trying to find the good old stuff.