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Imagine having a free evening. You're feeling rejuvenated, open to experience, and looking to shake up your usual routine of relaxing at home. The world offers possibilities! Do you opt for a) attending a concert or b) having sex? The answer, as typically seen with these types of queries, is obviously: “It depends.” Reasonable people could understandably ask: what's the show? Who's the other person? Will it be going to be enjoyable?

Not many would select a intense rock concert if the choice was a magical night with a favorite star. However tweak either end of the equation, and it turns less clearcut. Regarding the 40,000 people posed this query from a live event company, no additional clarification was offered – and the response emerged unambiguously and heavily supporting concerts.

Study Data Reveal Interesting Trends

An international study, polling 40,000 people aged between 18 and 54 across 15 markets, found that concerts have become the number one form of entertainment, beating out sports, movies and – absolutely – sex. When limited to only one option of activity permanently, nearly four in ten selected gigs, compared to watching movies (17%) and athletic competitions (14%). The group was over two times as likely to prefer watching their top musician in concert (70%) rather than sexual activity (30%).

You show up expecting to be pleasantly surprised – and frequently you could wind up with someone else’s hair in your mouth

Factors and Reflections

Certainly it’s not surprising that a promotional study carried out for a concert promoter might conclude so overwhelmingly in favour of gigs – and, in the freewheeling mood of a hypothetical choice, if your favourite artist is, for example an iconic star, you can see why watching him may be chosen instead of a routine situation. However this two-option scenario between gigs or sexual activity, plainly ridiculous though it may be, is interesting to reflect on amid the peculiar moment we’re at with these two aspects.

The Change of Concert Culture

Over the past few years, live music participation has evolved into more than a group event but a serious endeavor. Major promoters appropriately highlight that stadium attendance has “tripled year-over-year”, and music festivals sell out more rapidly than previously. Just obtaining passes now needs detailed strategy, quick decision-making and significant funds (or a generous credit card limit). Though you’re successful, that alone won't do to just show up and enjoy the show. There’s now an anticipation, at least among pop fans, that you could increase your return on investment by attending more than once (including overseas trips), learning the performance lineup beforehand and understanding the rituals to perform and audience interactions created by previous crowds.

Numerous fans admit to scarred by their experience at large concerts: what seemed like a choreographed performance of massive crowds, where some individuals turned up unfamiliar with the protocol. That 18-month event, generating billions, was proof of the lengths to which fans will travel to feel part of a historic occasion and see their favourite artist play, although the actual music appears more and more secondary to the spectacle.

The Situation of Contemporary Sexuality

Intimacy, conversely – an accessible and accessible pleasure – experiences difficult times. Based on contemporary studies, nearly one in four of people engaged sexually in an typical week, while about three in ten were not engaging. Elsewhere, current statistics revealed that more than 25% of adults reported not having sexual activity even once in the last twelve months, up from lower numbers in earlier years. In these areas, the shift has been associated with reduced intimacy among younger people. Compare this with the industry booming for large concerts and the cutthroat competition for tickets. Of course it isn't straightforward as a straightforward choice between either option – “would you rather see a major tour repeatedly, or stay celibate?” – but it might be an indication of how people see the more dependable pleasure.

Unexpected Similarities

Intimacy and concerts are more comparable than you might think. They both embody the commencement of a relationship, a real-world test of expectations or potential that may have developed only in your head. You arrive with a general notion of what might happen, but expecting to be pleasantly surprised – and if it turns out satisfying or frustrating rests largely on if your enthusiasm and anticipations match theirs. Frequently you’ll end up with another person's locks in your mouth, and afterwards be waiting around for a cigarette and personal space by yourself. And, in both cases, stimulants and beverages can either enhance or lessen the event (but absolutely assist the worst experiences simpler to handle).

Seeking Harmony

The appeal to live events and relationships hinges on discovering that perfect combination between comfort and excitement, sameness and variation, effort and ease. Naturally it's uncommon – but it’s the memory of successful moments, the awareness that it’s possible, that drives us to try again: to {