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Envision being gifted with a night off. You feel refreshed, open to experience, and wanting to change your regular habits of post-work slumping. The world awaits your choice! Do you choose a) attending a concert or b) engaging in intimacy? The response, as frequently true with such kinds of questions, is obviously: “It depends.” Mature individuals may reasonably inquire: what kind of the show? Who is the companion? Will it be expected to be good?

Few would pick a intense rock concert if the other option was a magical night with Jonathan Bailey. However tweak either end of the scenario, and it turns less clearcut. Regarding the thousands surveyed presented with this choice by a live event company, no additional clarification was offered – and the answer came out clearly and strongly preferring live music events.

Survey Results Show Unexpected Choices

An international survey, interviewing a large sample ranging from 18 and 54 across different nations, revealed that gigs have become the most popular leisure activity, surpassing games, movies and – yes – intimacy. When limited to a single form of activity for the rest of their lives, 39% of respondents selected live music, compared to watching movies (17%) and games (14%). The group was significantly more as inclined to choose attending their preferred performer live (70%) over sexual activity (30%).

You appear hopeful of being pleasantly surprised – and regularly you could wind up with someone else’s hair in your mouth

Context and Considerations

Naturally it’s not surprising that a PR survey conducted for a concert promoter should come out so strongly preferring gigs – and, in the freewheeling mood of a either-or question, if your top performer is, say a legendary singer, one can appreciate why attending his concert could prevail rather than a routine encounter. But this binary choice between concerts or sex, obviously silly though it may be, is fascinating to reflect on considering the strange juncture we face with these two aspects.

The Change of Concert Culture

Lately, concert attendance has become not just a group event but a competitive sport. Live organizations duly point out that stadium attendance has “grown significantly annually”, and music festivals are fully reserved more rapidly than previously. Merely acquiring tickets now requires extensive preparation, rapid-fire response times and bottomless pockets (or a generous credit card limit). Though you’re successful, it’s not enough to just show up and watch the performance. Currently there is an assumption, at least among concertgoers, that you can boost your enjoyment value by going multiple times (including overseas trips), learning the performance lineup in advance and understanding the rituals to perform and fan traditions established by earlier audiences.

Many fans admit to shaken by their participation at major tours: appearing as a scripted production of thousands of people, in which certain attendees came unfamiliar with the routine. That 18-month concert series, producing huge revenue, demonstrated of the extents that people will go to feel part of a historic occasion and see their favourite artist play, although the actual music seems increasingly overshadowed by the show.

The Situation of Modern Intimacy

Sex, by contrast – a relatively cheap and accessible pleasure – experiences dire straits. Based on recent surveys, approximately 25% of adults had sex in an average week, while nearly 30% were sexually inactive. In another major country, recent data showed that over a quarter of people reported not having sex at all in the previous year, up from lower numbers in earlier years. In these areas, the trend has been attributed to reduced intimacy in youth demographics. Contrast this with the industry booming for major events and the intense rivalry for admissions. Of course it’s not as simple as a basic option between either option – “do you prefer see a major tour multiple times, or avoid intimacy?” – but it's possibly an indication of how people see the more dependable satisfaction.

Surprising Parallels

Relationships and gigs are closer aligned than people often believe. Both represent the commencement of a bond, a actual experience of impressions or possibility that might have amassed only in your head. You come with a basic expectation of the probable outcome, but expecting to be happily shocked – and whether it proves enjoyable or disappointing rests largely on if your enthusiasm and expectations match theirs. Frequently you could wind up with a stranger's hair in your mouth, and afterwards be waiting around for a break and personal space on your own. Similarly for each, substances and drinks can sometimes improve or lessen the experience (but absolutely assist the most unpleasant occasions more bearable).

Achieving Equilibrium

The magic to live events and relationships hinges on finding that hard-to-find balance between the known and the new, sameness and variation, work and relaxation. Naturally it occurs infrequently – but it's the recollection of when they did, the awareness that it’s possible, that drives us to try again: to {