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Picture having a free evening. You are energized, open to experience, and looking to shake up your typical schedule of evening scrolling. Your options is your oyster! Could you opt for a) going to a gig or b) having sex? The outcome, as is often seen with such kinds of hypotheticals, is obviously: “It depends.” Thinking adults may reasonably wonder: what's the show? With whom is the partner? Is it likely to be satisfying?

Hardly anyone would select a intense rock concert if the choice was a dream date with a beloved celebrity. However tweak one side of the equation, and it grows more complicated. In the case of the 40,000 people posed this query by a live event company, no such context was offered – and the response emerged decisively and strongly supporting live music events.

Study Data Show Surprising Trends

A global survey, polling thousands of participants aged between 18 and 54 from 15 markets, revealed that concerts are now the world’s top form of entertainment, ranking above games, films and – indeed – intimacy. Given the choice to a single form of enjoyment for the rest of their lives, nearly four in ten selected gigs, compared to going to the cinema (17%) and athletic competitions (14%). They were also significantly more as inclined to prefer attending their preferred performer in concert (70%) rather than sex (30%).

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

Context and Considerations

Naturally it makes sense that a PR survey conducted for a gig organizer should come out so heavily in favour of gigs – and, in the freewheeling spirit of a either-or question, if your top performer is, such as a legendary singer, you can see why seeing him might win out over a routine encounter. But this two-option scenario between live music or sex, obviously silly even if it seems, is fascinating to consider amid the peculiar juncture we experience with both.

The Change of Concert Culture

In recent years, live music participation has evolved into more than a group event but a intense competition. Live organizations duly point out that stadium attendance has “grown significantly annually”, and festivals sell out more rapidly than previously. Just obtaining passes now demands extensive preparation, instant reactions and deep finances (or a substantial budget). Though you’re successful, that alone won't do to just show up and watch the performance. Nowadays exists an assumption, at least among pop fans, that you could increase your experience quality by seeing several shows (including overseas trips), swotting up on the song selection beforehand and memorizing the cues to follow and calls-and-responses developed through previous crowds.

Numerous attendees admit to scarred by their attendance at popular events: what felt like a choreographed performance of massive crowds, in which some individuals came unaware of the steps. That 18-month tour, generating billions, demonstrated of the lengths to which fans will travel to participate in a significant event and experience their top musician play, though the real performance appears more and more secondary to the production.

The State of Contemporary Sexuality

Sexual activity, conversely – a relatively cheap and available enjoyment – experiences challenging circumstances. Based on recent surveys, nearly one in four of individuals engaged sexually in an typical week, while nearly 30% were sexually inactive. Elsewhere, recent data revealed that over a quarter of individuals said they had not sexual activity at all in the last twelve months, rising from lower numbers in previous decades. In both territories, the shift has been associated with decreased encounters among younger people. Compare this with the sector expanding rapidly for stadium extravaganzas and the fierce battle for passes. Naturally it isn't straightforward as a simple decision between one or the other – “could you choose experience a popular event multiple times, or remain abstinent?” – but it might be an sign of how people see the more dependable satisfaction.

Interesting Comparisons

Sex and live music are closer aligned than you might think. They both embody the activation of a connection, a actual experience of impressions or promise that might have amassed solely in your imagination. You arrive with a general notion of what might happen, but expecting to be delightfully amazed – and how it ends up good or bad rests largely on whether your energy and expectations match theirs. Quite often you might find with a stranger's hair in your mouth, and afterwards be waiting around for a cigarette and personal space on your own. Similarly for each, substances and drinks can potentially heighten or reduce the situation (but definitely make the most unpleasant occasions simpler to handle).

Finding the Balance

The magic to both gigs and sex depends on locating that elusive sweet spot between the known and the new, consistency and change, work and relaxation. Certainly it happens only rarely – but it's the remembrance of successful moments, the knowledge that success is achievable, that motivates us to try again: to {