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Picture finding yourself with a night off. You are rejuvenated, open to experience, and looking to break from your usual routine of post-work slumping. Your options awaits your choice! Would you opt for a) attending a concert or b) having sex? The answer, as frequently true with such kinds of hypotheticals, is clearly: “It depends.” Reasonable people may reasonably wonder: what kind of the show? Who's the other person? Could it be expected to be good?

Not many would select a intense rock concert if the alternative was a dream date with Jonathan Bailey. However tweak any part of the comparison, and it turns more complicated. For the thousands surveyed presented with this choice through a live event company, no such clarification was provided – and the response was revealed unambiguously and heavily in favour of concerts.

Study Data Indicate Interesting Trends

An international survey, interviewing a large sample ranging from 18 and 54 across different nations, revealed that live music have become the most popular leisure activity, ranking above games, movies and – absolutely – intimacy. When limited to only one option of activity forever, nearly four in ten picked live music, against film attendance (17%) and athletic competitions (14%). They were also more than twice as inclined to prefer attending their preferred performer live (70%) instead of intimacy (30%).

You show up expecting to be delightfully amazed – and quite often you could wind up with another person's locks in your mouth

Factors and Reflections

Of course it’s not surprising that a marketing research carried out for a live event company should come out so heavily preferring concerts – and, with the speculative spirit of a would-you-rather, if your favourite artist is, say Paul McCartney, it's understandable why attending his concert may be chosen rather than a ordinary experience. Yet this either-or decision between live music or intimacy, obviously silly even if it seems, is fascinating to think about given the odd juncture we’re at with these two aspects.

The Change of Gig Attendance

Lately, concert attendance has become not just a group event but a intense competition. Major promoters appropriately highlight that stadium attendance has “increased threefold each year”, and live events sell out faster than ever. Simply getting tickets now needs extensive preparation, quick decision-making and bottomless pockets (or a generous credit card limit). Even if you manage, it isn't sufficient to simply turn up and watch the performance. Nowadays exists an anticipation, at least among pop fans, that you might enhance your return on investment by attending more than once (potentially going abroad), swotting up on the performance lineup ahead of time and memorizing the cues to perform and fan traditions developed through previous crowds.

Many attendees describe being shaken by their participation at major tours: what felt like a choreographed performance of thousands of people, where particular fans came not knowing the protocol. Those lengthy event, generating billions, was proof of the lengths to which people will go to experience a cultural moment and experience their top musician play, although the actual music grows somewhat secondary to the show.

The State of Modern Intimacy

Intimacy, by contrast – an affordable and accessible pleasure – faces dire straits. Based on modern research, nearly one in four of individuals engaged sexually in an regular period, while about three in ten were not engaging. In a different nation, current statistics indicated that more than 25% of adults said they had not sex a single time in the past year, increasing from lower numbers in previous decades. In both territories, the change has been attributed to less sexual activity among younger people. Juxtapose this with the industry driving growth for stadium extravaganzas and the cutthroat competition for admissions. Certainly it isn't straightforward as a basic option between one or the other – “would you rather see a major tour repeatedly, or stay celibate?” – but it might be an sign of how people see the more dependable enjoyment.

Unexpected Similarities

Intimacy and concerts are more comparable than you might think. They both embody the activation of a bond, a practical trial of ideas or possibility that could have built only in your head. You arrive with a general notion of the probable outcome, but anticipating pleasantly surprised – and if it turns out enjoyable or disappointing relies heavily on whether your energy and expectations correspond with partners. Regularly you might find with a stranger's hair in your mouth, and afterwards be waiting around for a smoke and some quiet time on your own. Likewise with either, substances and drinks can sometimes improve or detract from the situation (but certainly help the most dire situations easier to weather).

Achieving Equilibrium

The appeal to both gigs and sex hinges on discovering that hard-to-find balance between the known and the new, consistency and change, challenge and comfort. Certainly it happens only rarely – but it's the remembrance of successful moments, the understanding that it can happen, that motivates us to attempt once more: to {