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Envision being gifted with a night off. You're feeling energized, ready for adventure, and looking to break from your usual routine of post-work slumping. The world is your oyster! Do you choose a) going to a gig or b) having sex? The outcome, as is often seen with these types of questions, is obviously: “It depends.” Mature individuals might logically inquire: what is the concert? Who is the other person? Will it be expected to be good?

Few would pick a heavy metal lineup if the other option was a dream date with a favorite star. However tweak one side of the comparison, and it turns more complicated. For the thousands surveyed asked this question from a live event company, no additional context was provided – and the answer came out decisively and strongly in favour of gigs.

Study Data Show Surprising Trends

An international study, questioning a large sample aged between 18 and 54 in multiple countries, revealed that gigs have become the number one pastime, surpassing games, cinema and – absolutely – sex. Given the choice to only one option of enjoyment forever, nearly four in ten chose concerts, against going to the cinema (17%) and athletic competitions (14%). Participants were more than twice as inclined to select watching their top musician in concert (70%) rather than sex (30%).

You appear expecting to be happily shocked – and regularly you might find with a stranger's hair in your mouth

Factors and Reflections

Of course it’s not surprising that a promotional study conducted for a concert promoter should come out so overwhelmingly preferring live shows – and, amid the playful tone of a hypothetical choice, if your top performer is, for example a legendary singer, you can see why watching him might win out instead of a routine experience. However this two-option scenario between concerts or sex, clearly absurd as it is, is interesting to reflect on given the odd point we’re at with each.

The Transformation of Concert Culture

Over the past few years, concert attendance has become not just a group event but a serious endeavor. Major promoters appropriately highlight that large venue turnout has “increased threefold each year”, and festivals are fully reserved more rapidly than previously. Merely acquiring admissions now needs detailed strategy, quick decision-making and bottomless pockets (or a generous credit card limit). Although you manage, it’s not enough to merely attend and experience the event. Currently there is an expectation, at least among pop fans, that you can boost your return on investment by attending more than once (potentially going abroad), swotting up on the performance lineup ahead of time and knowing your marks to hit and fan traditions created by past attendees.

Many concertgoers admit to shaken by their attendance at popular events: appearing as a scripted production of massive crowds, in which particular fans came unfamiliar with the routine. Those lengthy concert series, earning massive sums, demonstrated of the degree to which people will go to participate in a historic occasion and experience their top musician play, even if the actual music grows somewhat secondary to the spectacle.

The Condition of Contemporary Sexuality

Intimacy, on the other hand – a relatively cheap and available enjoyment – faces challenging circumstances. According to recent surveys, nearly one in four of people were intimate in an typical week, while about three in ten were sexually inactive. In another major country, current statistics showed that more than 25% of adults said they had not sex a single time in the previous year, up from smaller percentages in earlier years. Across these regions, the change has been linked to decreased encounters in youth demographics. Juxtapose this with the industry booming for major events and the cutthroat competition for passes. Naturally it isn't straightforward as a straightforward choice between both alternatives – “could you choose see a major tour repeatedly, or stay celibate?” – but it's possibly an sign of which is perceived as the more consistent satisfaction.

Unexpected Similarities

Sex and live music are closer aligned than you might think. Both represent the initiation of a connection, a practical trial of impressions or possibility that could have built only in your head. You arrive with a basic expectation of the probable outcome, but anticipating pleasantly surprised – and whether it proves good or bad rests largely on whether your energy and anticipations align with others. Regularly you could wind up with another person's locks in your mouth, and following be hanging out for a cigarette and a moment alone alone. And, in both cases, substances and drinks can sometimes improve or lessen the situation (but definitely make the most dire experiences more bearable).

Seeking Harmony

The wonder to concerts and intimacy depends on finding that elusive sweet spot between comfort and excitement, consistency and change, challenge and comfort. Of course it happens only rarely – but it's the recollection of successful moments, the understanding that it’s possible, that motivates us to try again: to {