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Envision having a free evening. You're feeling refreshed, ready for adventure, and wanting to shake up your typical schedule of evening scrolling. The world awaits your choice! Could you choose a) going to a gig or b) being with a partner? The response, as frequently true with such kinds of questions, is plainly: “It varies.” Mature individuals may reasonably ask: what kind of the concert? With whom is the partner? Could it be going to be good?

Hardly anyone would choose a intense rock concert if the other option was a dream date with Jonathan Bailey. However tweak one side of the comparison, and it becomes more complicated. Regarding the participants asked this question from a live event company, no additional context was provided – and the answer came out decisively and strongly in favour of concerts.

Research Findings Indicate Interesting Choices

An international study, interviewing 40,000 people from 18 and 54 across multiple countries, found that live music are now the most popular pastime, ranking above sports, cinema and – indeed – intimacy. When limited to only one option of enjoyment for the rest of their lives, a significant portion selected concerts, against watching movies (17%) and sports events (14%). Participants were over two times as prone to select watching their top musician live (70%) instead of intimacy (30%).

You arrive anticipating pleasantly surprised – and regularly you’ll end up with another person's locks in your mouth

Context and Considerations

Certainly it makes sense that a promotional study commissioned by a live event company might conclude so overwhelmingly preferring concerts – and, with the speculative tone of a hypothetical choice, if your favourite artist is, say Paul McCartney, you can see why watching him may be chosen instead of a common or garden experience. However this binary choice between gigs or sex, obviously silly as it is, is interesting to reflect on considering the strange point we face with each.

The Change of Concert Culture

Over the past few years, concert attendance has become not just a communal experience but a competitive sport. Live organizations rightly note that large venue turnout has “tripled year-over-year”, and music festivals get booked up quicker than before. Merely acquiring admissions now needs military-level planning, instant reactions and significant funds (or a high spending capacity). Even if you’re successful, it’s not enough to just show up and experience the event. Nowadays exists an anticipation, especially for pop fans, that you can boost your experience quality by seeing several shows (including overseas trips), studying the set list ahead of time and knowing your marks to hit and fan traditions established by earlier audiences.

Several concertgoers report feeling affected by their attendance at popular events: what seemed like a orchestrated show of thousands of people, where particular fans arrived unaware of the routine. That 18-month concert series, generating billions, was proof of the extents that attendees will push to participate in a significant event and experience their top musician perform, though the live sound seems increasingly secondary to the spectacle.

The State of Current Relationships

Sexual activity, conversely – an affordable and accessible pleasure – is in dire straits. According to contemporary studies, nearly one in four of adults were intimate in an typical week, while about three in ten were sexually inactive. In a different nation, current statistics indicated that a significant portion of adults reported not having intimacy a single time in the previous year, increasing from lower numbers in previous decades. In these areas, the change has been attributed to decreased encounters in youth demographics. Contrast this with the market driving growth for stadium extravaganzas and the cutthroat competition for admissions. Naturally it’s not as simple as a basic option between one or the other – “would you rather see a major tour multiple times, or remain abstinent?” – but it might be an indication of which is perceived as the more reliable pleasure.

Interesting Comparisons

Intimacy and concerts are closer aligned than people often believe. Each symbolizes the commencement of a connection, a actual experience of expectations or possibility that could have built only in your head. You come with some idea of what might happen, but hopeful of being happily shocked – and how it ends up satisfying or frustrating depends very much on if your enthusiasm and hopes align with others. Frequently you’ll end up with a stranger's hair in your mouth, and afterwards be waiting around for a smoke and personal space by yourself. Similarly for each, stimulants and beverages can sometimes improve or lessen the situation (but definitely make the worst experiences more bearable).

Finding the Balance

The appeal to concerts and intimacy relies on finding that elusive sweet spot between the known and the new, sameness and variation, effort and ease. Certainly it's uncommon – but it’s the memory of when they did, the awareness that it’s possible, that motivates us to give it another shot: to {