Conversation in the community keeps circling back to the idea that Burning Man has a “demographic problem” — that the event is getting older and that Gen Z needs to be dragged in with apps, ads, and recruitment drives. That frame misses the point.
Here’s the reality: the playa isn’t a failing product that needs a marketing campaign. What community-run theme camps do well — and what some of the biggest camps have lost sight of — is three low-tech, high-impact things that actually help newcomers get in the door:
- Affordability. Shared infrastructure (shade, kitchens, generators, tools) lowers the cost barrier for people who don’t own RVs or can’t swing big ticket camp dues.
- Acculturation. Camps teach the basics of being a Burner — Leave No Trace, participation, work culture — especially important when local scenes are thinner after the pandemic.
- Social networks. The friends-of-friends pipeline used to be a reliable way for newcomers to find their people. Camps still do that mentoring work when other social nodes have eroded.
So yes, if your camp has ballooned into a private infrastructure behemoth and depends on brand-new strangers paying $800+ just to subsidize the vibe, the right answer might be simple: get smaller. There’s nothing wrong with an older average age in the crowd. What’s worth defending are the spaces that intentionally onboard, teach, and mentor — especially small, queer, volunteer-heavy camps that depend on continuity.
Where the community goes off-track is when fixes look like commodification: apps to “increase engagement,” influencer push campaigns, or turning camps into mini-startups. Those solutions treat Burning Man like a product with KPIs instead of a living culture with lifecycles. Camps have natural rhythms; forcing perpetual growth breeds burnout and the exact corporatization people complain about.
Practical takeaway for camp organizers and experienced Burners: if continuity and mentorship matter to you, prioritize accessible infrastructure, clear volunteer mentorship pathways, and realistic scale. If your camp can’t sustain itself without onboarding expensive strangers, consider simplifying the model rather than building a recruitment funnel.
For everyone else: don’t overcomplicate it. Go out to the desert, build community in whatever shape works for you, and let different models coexist. Not every camp needs to be a recruitment center — some are just there to be weird, generous, and durable.
Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/BurningMan/comments/1pdtm4p/burningman_demographic_problem_is_a_nonissue/