In the past, people often faced many dangers in their daily lives. They had to cope with not only natural disasters and frequent outbreaks of disease, but also dangerous animals and warfare. The need to hunt and to protect their territory from other people required them to be skilled in the use of weapons. In addition, any travel also involved great risk as there were few roads and bridges. Nowadays, people do not have to live with such dangers on a daily basis, and yet many people choose to involve themselves in risky activities such as dangerous sports. I believe the following reasons can explain the attraction of such activities.
One reason people are attracted to risky activities is that hey crave excitement. The thrill of mountain climbing or bungee jumping can satisfy their need to break out of their routine. Without the excitement of such sports, they may feel bored with their lives. Another reason people like such activities is that these activities often require a certain amount of skill. Learning to drive a racecar or hang-glide may satisfy the desire to excel and give the participant a feeling of accomplishment and personal confidence in his abilities. A final reason that people may choose to engage in risky activities is that they want to stand out from the crowd. By developing a skill that others don’t have, they can feel unique.
For all of these reasons, I believe that risky activities will continue to be popular with some people. In fact, it seems that as soon as one activity becomes safer or commonplace, thrill seekers come up with a new way to challenge their skills and courage.