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Imagine finding yourself with a open night. You're feeling rejuvenated, open to experience, and wanting to change your regular habits of evening scrolling. The world is your oyster! Would you choose a) going to a gig or b) engaging in intimacy? The response, as is often the case with these sorts of hypotheticals, is clearly: “It varies.” Thinking adults could understandably wonder: what kind of the gig? Who is the companion? Could it be likely to be good?

Not many would choose a intense rock concert if the alternative was a magical night with Jonathan Bailey. However tweak any part of the scenario, and it becomes less obvious. In the case of the 40,000 people posed this query by a gig organization, no such context was given – and the result emerged unambiguously and strongly supporting concerts.

Study Data Reveal Surprising Trends

A global study, polling thousands of participants ranging from 18 and 54 across 15 markets, found that gigs have become the most popular leisure activity, ranking above athletic events, cinema and – yes – sex. When limited to one type of activity forever, nearly four in ten selected concerts, compared to film attendance (17%) and games (14%). They were also significantly more as prone to prefer seeing their favourite artist on stage (70%) over intimacy (30%).

You appear hopeful of being delightfully amazed – and frequently you’ll end up with another person's locks in your mouth

Factors and Reflections

Of course it’s not surprising that a promotional study commissioned by a live event company would result so strongly in favour of concerts – and, with the speculative spirit of a hypothetical choice, if your top performer is, for example an iconic star, one can appreciate why seeing him may be chosen rather than a common or garden experience. Yet this binary choice between live music or sex, clearly absurd though it may be, is fascinating to reflect on given the odd juncture we’re at with each.

The Transformation of Live Music Experience

Over the past few years, concert attendance has evolved into more than a group event but a serious endeavor. Major promoters duly point out that arena crowds has “increased threefold annually”, and music festivals are fully reserved more rapidly than previously. Merely acquiring tickets now needs extensive preparation, quick decision-making and bottomless pockets (or a high spending capacity). Though you manage, it isn't sufficient to just show up and watch the performance. There’s now an anticipation, especially for concertgoers, that you might enhance your enjoyment value by attending more than once (potentially going abroad), studying the set list in advance and understanding the rituals to follow and audience interactions established by earlier audiences.

Several fans describe being shaken by their attendance at large concerts: what felt like a scripted production of huge audiences, where certain attendees came unfamiliar with the routine. The extended concert series, generating billions, demonstrated of the extents that attendees will push to participate in a significant event and experience their top musician sing, though the actual music grows somewhat overshadowed by the show.

The State of Current Relationships

Sex, by contrast – an accessible and available enjoyment – is in difficult times. Based on contemporary studies, nearly one in four of adults were intimate in an regular period, while just under a third were not engaging. In a different nation, modern figures revealed that a significant portion of adults admitted to avoiding sexual activity at all in the previous year, up from smaller percentages in the past. In these areas, the change has been associated with decreased encounters in youth demographics. Compare this with the sector expanding rapidly for major events and the cutthroat competition for tickets. Of course it isn't straightforward as a simple decision between one or the other – “do you prefer experience a popular event multiple times, or stay celibate?” – but it's possibly an indication of how people see the more dependable enjoyment.

Interesting Comparisons

Relationships and gigs are more similar than one may assume. Both represent the initiation of a connection, a actual experience of ideas or possibility that might have amassed just in your mind. You arrive with a basic expectation of the probable outcome, but anticipating pleasantly surprised – and whether it proves satisfying or frustrating rests largely on if your enthusiasm and hopes correspond with partners. Frequently you could wind up with another person's locks in your mouth, and following be waiting around for a break and some quiet time on your own. Likewise with either, substances and drinks can potentially heighten or detract from the experience (but definitely make the most dire experiences simpler to handle).

Finding the Balance

The magic to live events and relationships relies on finding that elusive sweet spot between the known and the new, consistency and change, effort and ease. Of course it happens only rarely – but it's the recollection of when it worked, the knowledge that success is achievable, that drives us to try again: to {