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Picture finding yourself with a open night. You are energized, eager for new things, and hoping to change your usual routine of evening scrolling. Your options is your oyster! Could you prefer a) attending a concert or b) engaging in intimacy? The answer, as frequently true with these types of hypotheticals, is clearly: “That depends.” Mature individuals could understandably wonder: what is the concert? Who is the other person? Is it likely to be satisfying?

Hardly anyone would choose a intense rock concert if the other option was a dream date with a beloved celebrity. However tweak either end of the scenario, and it turns more complicated. For the 40,000 people posed this query by a major concert promoter, no further context was offered – and the response emerged decisively and overwhelmingly supporting gigs.

Study Data Show Unexpected Preferences

A worldwide study, interviewing a large sample from 18 and 54 in 15 markets, showed that gigs currently stand as the number one form of entertainment, surpassing athletic events, films and – yes – intimacy. Given the choice to one type of entertainment forever, 39% of respondents picked live music, against film attendance (17%) and athletic competitions (14%). Participants were more than twice as prone to prefer attending their preferred performer on stage (70%) over intimacy (30%).

You show up hopeful of being pleasantly surprised – and quite often you’ll end up with someone else’s hair in your mouth

Context and Considerations

Certainly it’s not surprising that a PR survey commissioned by a gig organizer might conclude so strongly preferring concerts – and, amid the playful tone of a would-you-rather, if your top performer is, say Paul McCartney, you can see why attending his concert may be chosen over a ordinary encounter. Yet this binary choice between live music or intimacy, obviously silly even if it seems, is noteworthy to consider given the odd point we experience with both.

The Change of Live Music Experience

Over the past few years, gig-going has grown beyond a communal experience but a serious endeavor. Major promoters duly point out that large venue turnout has “increased threefold each year”, and festivals are fully reserved more rapidly than previously. Just obtaining passes now needs extensive preparation, rapid-fire response times and bottomless pockets (or a high spending capacity). Though you’re successful, it isn't sufficient to merely attend and experience the event. There’s now an anticipation, particularly with concertgoers, that you could increase your return on investment by seeing several shows (potentially going abroad), studying the performance lineup beforehand and understanding the rituals to perform and calls-and-responses developed through previous crowds.

Many fans report feeling scarred by their participation at popular events: what seemed like a orchestrated show of huge audiences, where some individuals arrived not knowing the routine. That 18-month concert series, earning massive sums, demonstrated of the extents that people will go to experience a cultural moment and see their favourite artist play, even if the real performance appears more and more less important than the spectacle.

The Situation of Contemporary Sexuality

Sexual activity, by contrast – an affordable and available enjoyment – experiences dire straits. According to modern research, approximately 25% of adults had sex in an regular period, while about three in ten were not engaging. Elsewhere, current statistics indicated that more than 25% of adults reported not having sexual activity at all in the previous year, rising from fewer people in the past. In these areas, the change has been linked to less sexual activity among younger people. Juxtapose this with the industry booming for stadium extravaganzas and the intense rivalry for admissions. Naturally it isn't straightforward as a basic option between one or the other – “do you prefer see a major tour multiple times, or remain abstinent?” – but it might be an sign of which is perceived as the more reliable satisfaction.

Unexpected Similarities

Relationships and gigs are more similar than one may assume. They both embody the activation of a relationship, a actual experience of expectations or promise that may have developed just in your mind. You arrive with a general notion of what might happen, but expecting to be happily shocked – and whether it proves enjoyable or disappointing rests largely on whether your energy and expectations align with others. Quite often you’ll end up with another person's locks in your mouth, and later be lingering for a cigarette and some quiet time on your own. And, in both cases, stimulants and beverages can either enhance or detract from the experience (but absolutely assist the most dire occasions easier to weather).

Finding the Balance

The wonder to live events and relationships hinges on finding that elusive sweet spot between the known and the new, similarity and difference, effort and ease. Certainly it happens only rarely – but it’s the memory of successful moments, the understanding that it’s possible, that motivates us to give it another shot: to {