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Envision having a free evening. You're feeling refreshed, ready for adventure, and looking to shake up your regular habits of evening scrolling. The world awaits your choice! Do you prefer a) attending a concert or b) engaging in intimacy? The outcome, as typically the case with these types of hypotheticals, is clearly: “It depends.” Thinking adults might logically ask: what is the show? Who is the companion? Is it going to be enjoyable?

Hardly anyone would select a Limp Bizkit/Slipknot/Korn triple bill if the other option was one enchanted evening with a beloved celebrity. But adjust one side of the equation, and it grows more complicated. In the case of the thousands surveyed asked this question through a live event company, no additional clarification was offered – and the result was revealed clearly and overwhelmingly supporting gigs.

Study Data Show Unexpected Trends

A worldwide study, interviewing a large sample from 18 and 54 in multiple countries, revealed that concerts currently stand as the most popular form of entertainment, beating out sports, movies and – absolutely – sex. When limited to only one option of enjoyment permanently, 39% of respondents chose live music, versus film attendance (17%) and games (14%). Participants were significantly more as inclined to prefer watching their top musician on stage (70%) rather than intimacy (30%).

You arrive anticipating happily shocked – and regularly you might find with someone else’s hair in your mouth

Factors and Reflections

Of course it's expected that a marketing research commissioned by a live event company might conclude so heavily preferring live shows – and, with the speculative mood of a hypothetical choice, if your favourite artist is, such as a legendary singer, you can see why attending his concert could prevail instead of a common or garden situation. Yet this two-option scenario between concerts or sexual activity, plainly ridiculous even if it seems, is noteworthy to consider given the odd moment we face with these two aspects.

The Change of Gig Attendance

In recent years, live music participation has evolved into more than a group event but a serious endeavor. Major promoters appropriately highlight that arena crowds has “tripled year-over-year”, and live events get booked up more rapidly than previously. Just obtaining passes now demands detailed strategy, quick decision-making and deep finances (or a high spending capacity). Although you’re successful, it’s not enough to merely attend and experience the event. Currently there is an anticipation, particularly with music enthusiasts, that you can boost your return on investment by going multiple times (potentially going abroad), learning the set list ahead of time and memorizing the cues to follow and fan traditions developed through previous crowds.

Many attendees report feeling scarred by their participation at large concerts: what seemed like a choreographed performance of huge audiences, to which certain attendees came unaware of the protocol. Those lengthy tour, generating billions, demonstrated of the extents that fans will travel to feel part of a cultural moment and see their favourite artist perform, even if the live sound seems increasingly less important than the spectacle.

The State of Modern Intimacy

Sex, on the other hand – a relatively cheap and common experience – is in difficult times. Per contemporary studies, nearly one in four of individuals engaged sexually in an average week, while just under a third were sexually inactive. In a different nation, modern figures revealed that over a quarter of people reported not having sexual activity at all in the previous year, increasing from smaller percentages in earlier years. In both territories, the shift has been attributed to reduced intimacy among younger people. Juxtapose this with the sector booming for major events and the intense rivalry for passes. Naturally it's more complicated as a basic option between both alternatives – “do you prefer see a major tour multiple times, or remain abstinent?” – but it's possibly an signal of how people see the more consistent enjoyment.

Interesting Comparisons

Sex and live music are more similar than people often believe. Both represent the activation of a bond, a actual experience of ideas or promise that could have built solely in your imagination. You show up with a basic expectation of how it’s likely to go, but anticipating pleasantly surprised – and how it ends up good or bad depends very much on how your vibe and hopes match theirs. Frequently you might find with a stranger's hair in your mouth, and later be waiting around for a smoke and personal space on your own. Likewise with either, substances and drinks can sometimes improve or lessen the experience (but absolutely assist the most unpleasant situations more bearable).

Finding the Balance

The wonder to concerts and intimacy relies on discovering that perfect combination between familiarity and novelty, similarity and difference, effort and ease. Of course it occurs infrequently – but it’s the memory of when it worked, the knowledge that it’s possible, that motivates us to attempt once more: to {