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Envision finding yourself with a open night. You're feeling energized, ready for adventure, and looking to change your regular habits of evening scrolling. Life itself awaits your choice! Could you prefer a) going to a gig or b) engaging in intimacy? The response, as frequently the case with these sorts of queries, is clearly: “That depends.” Reasonable people could understandably ask: what's the show? Who is the other person? Could it be going to be enjoyable?

Not many would choose a heavy metal lineup if the alternative was one enchanted evening with a favorite star. Yet change any part of the scenario, and it turns more complicated. In the case of the thousands surveyed posed this query from a major concert promoter, no additional clarification was given – and the answer came out unambiguously and heavily preferring concerts.

Study Data Reveal Surprising Preferences

An international report, polling a large sample ranging from 18 and 54 in different nations, showed that gigs have become the world’s top form of entertainment, beating out sports, cinema and – indeed – sexual intercourse. Given the choice to one type of activity forever, nearly four in ten picked live music, compared to watching movies (17%) and athletic competitions (14%). Participants were over two times as prone to select seeing their favourite artist live (70%) rather than sex (30%).

You show up hopeful of being pleasantly surprised – and quite often you’ll end up with another person's locks in your mouth

Context and Considerations

Certainly it’s not surprising that a promotional study carried out for a concert promoter might conclude so heavily preferring live shows – and, with the speculative spirit of a either-or question, if your favourite artist is, say an iconic star, one can appreciate why seeing him may be chosen over a common or garden experience. However this binary choice between concerts or sex, obviously silly though it may be, is noteworthy to reflect on considering the strange juncture we face with these two aspects.

The Transformation of Live Music Experience

In recent years, concert attendance has become not just a communal experience but a competitive sport. Live organizations rightly note that stadium attendance has “grown significantly year-over-year”, and live events get booked up quicker than before. Simply getting admissions now requires extensive preparation, instant reactions and deep finances (or a generous credit card limit). Though you’re successful, it’s not enough to merely attend and experience the event. Currently there is an expectation, especially for music enthusiasts, that you could increase your enjoyment value by seeing several shows (including overseas trips), swotting up on the song selection beforehand and knowing your marks to perform and fan traditions created by earlier audiences.

Many concertgoers admit to scarred by their attendance at major tours: what felt like a orchestrated show of huge audiences, to which some individuals came unfamiliar with the steps. The extended tour, generating billions, was proof of the extents that people will go to experience a significant event and watch their preferred performer perform, though the real performance seems increasingly less important than the spectacle.

The State of Contemporary Sexuality

Intimacy, by contrast – an accessible and available enjoyment – experiences difficult times. Per modern research, nearly one in four of adults engaged sexually in an average week, while nearly 30% were abstaining. In a different nation, modern figures showed that over a quarter of adults admitted to avoiding sex at all in the last twelve months, increasing from smaller percentages in earlier years. Across these regions, the shift has been associated with reduced intimacy in youth demographics. Juxtapose this with the market expanding rapidly for large concerts and the intense rivalry for passes. Naturally it isn't straightforward as a basic option between one or the other – “would you rather attend a huge concert repeatedly, or remain abstinent?” – but it might be an sign of what is viewed as the more reliable pleasure.

Interesting Comparisons

Relationships and gigs are more comparable than one may assume. Both represent the activation of a connection, a practical trial of impressions or possibility that may have developed only in your head. You show up with a basic expectation of how it’s likely to go, but hopeful of being delightfully amazed – and if it turns out satisfying or frustrating rests largely on how your vibe and anticipations align with others. Regularly you might find with someone else’s hair in your mouth, and later be lingering for a cigarette and some quiet time by yourself. Similarly for each, drugs and alcohol can either enhance or lessen the situation (but definitely make the most unpleasant situations simpler to handle).

Achieving Equilibrium

The appeal to both gigs and sex relies on discovering that elusive sweet spot between comfort and excitement, similarity and difference, effort and ease. Of course it occurs infrequently – but it's the remembrance of when they did, the understanding that success is achievable, that drives us to try again: to {