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Picture being gifted with a night off. You are refreshed, eager for new things, and looking to break from your usual routine of evening scrolling. Your options awaits your choice! Could you opt for a) going to a gig or b) engaging in intimacy? The response, as typically true with these sorts of queries, is clearly: “It varies.” Mature individuals might logically ask: what's the show? Who is the other person? Could it be going to be good?

Hardly anyone would select a Limp Bizkit/Slipknot/Korn triple bill if the choice was a magical night with a favorite star. But adjust any part of the scenario, and it grows less obvious. In the case of the thousands surveyed asked this question from a live event company, no further clarification was offered – and the response was revealed decisively and overwhelmingly preferring concerts.

Survey Results Reveal Unexpected Trends

A worldwide report, questioning thousands of participants aged between 18 and 54 in 15 markets, found that gigs currently stand as the number one pastime, surpassing athletic events, cinema and – absolutely – sexual intercourse. Given the choice to one type of enjoyment permanently, nearly four in ten picked concerts, compared to going to the cinema (17%) and games (14%). The group was significantly more as prone to select attending their preferred performer on stage (70%) rather than sexual activity (30%).

You appear hopeful of being pleasantly surprised – and quite often you’ll end up with another person's locks in your mouth

Factors and Reflections

Naturally it's expected that a marketing research commissioned by a concert promoter would result so heavily supporting concerts – and, in the freewheeling mood of a hypothetical choice, if your favourite artist is, such as Paul McCartney, one can appreciate why seeing him could prevail over a common or garden situation. However this two-option scenario between live music or intimacy, clearly absurd as it is, is fascinating to think about amid the peculiar juncture we’re at with both.

The Change of Concert Culture

In recent years, gig-going has grown beyond a group event but a serious endeavor. Live organizations rightly note that large venue turnout has “grown significantly annually”, and festivals get booked up more rapidly than previously. Merely acquiring admissions now needs extensive preparation, instant reactions and deep finances (or a generous credit card limit). Although you’re successful, it’s not enough to simply turn up and watch the performance. There’s now an assumption, at least among pop fans, that you could increase your enjoyment value by going multiple times (even travelling internationally), learning the song selection in advance and understanding the rituals to follow and audience interactions established by previous crowds.

Several attendees describe being affected by their participation at popular events: what seemed like a scripted production of massive crowds, to which certain attendees turned up unfamiliar with the routine. Those lengthy event, producing huge revenue, was proof of the lengths to which attendees will push to feel part of a cultural moment and watch their preferred performer perform, even if the actual music grows somewhat overshadowed by the spectacle.

The State of Modern Intimacy

Sexual activity, by contrast – an affordable and accessible pleasure – faces difficult times. Based on modern research, nearly one in four of people engaged sexually in an typical week, while nearly 30% were sexually inactive. In another major country, recent data showed that more than 25% of people reported not having sex even once in the past year, increasing from fewer people in the past. In both territories, the change has been attributed to less sexual activity in youth demographics. Juxtapose this with the sector booming for large concerts and the fierce battle for passes. Of course it's more complicated as a basic option between either option – “could you choose attend a huge concert often, or stay celibate?” – but it's possibly an indication of which is perceived as the more consistent pleasure.

Unexpected Similarities

Relationships and gigs are closer aligned than one may assume. They both embody the commencement of a relationship, a real-world test of ideas or potential that may have developed only in your head. You show up with a basic expectation of how it’s likely to go, but expecting to be happily shocked – and how it ends up good or bad rests largely on how your vibe and hopes correspond with partners. Quite often you could wind up with a stranger's hair in your mouth, and later be hanging out for a break and a moment alone on your own. Likewise with either, drugs and alcohol can either enhance or reduce the situation (but definitely make the worst situations more bearable).

Finding the Balance

The magic to both gigs and sex hinges on discovering that perfect combination between comfort and excitement, similarity and difference, effort and ease. Naturally it's uncommon – but it's the recollection of successful moments, the knowledge that success is achievable, that inspires us to give it another shot: to {