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Envision finding yourself with a night off. You're feeling energized, eager for new things, and looking to shake up your typical schedule of post-work slumping. Your options awaits your choice! Would you opt for a) seeing live music or b) having sex? The answer, as is often seen with these sorts of hypotheticals, is clearly: “That depends.” Thinking adults may reasonably ask: what kind of the concert? Who is the other person? Will it be going to be enjoyable?

Not many would select a heavy metal lineup if the other option was a magical night with Jonathan Bailey. Yet change any part of the scenario, and it turns less clearcut. For the participants presented with this choice from a gig organization, no such clarification was provided – and the answer was revealed clearly and strongly preferring concerts.

Research Findings Show Unexpected Trends

A worldwide report, questioning thousands of participants from 18 and 54 in different nations, found that live music are now the number one leisure activity, ranking above games, cinema and – indeed – intimacy. Given the choice to one type of enjoyment forever, nearly four in ten chose concerts, against film attendance (17%) and sports events (14%). The group was more than twice as inclined to select watching their top musician live (70%) rather than sex (30%).

You arrive expecting to be pleasantly surprised – and quite often you’ll end up with another person's locks in your mouth

Factors and Reflections

Certainly it’s not surprising that a marketing research carried out for a live event company might conclude so strongly preferring live shows – and, with the speculative tone of a would-you-rather, if your preferred musician is, such as a legendary singer, one can appreciate why attending his concert could prevail over a routine encounter. However this two-option scenario between live music or sexual activity, clearly absurd as it is, is interesting to think about given the odd moment we face with each.

The Transformation of Live Music Experience

Lately, concert attendance has evolved into more than a shared activity but a intense competition. Live organizations rightly note that large venue turnout has “tripled each year”, and festivals get booked up faster than ever. Merely acquiring tickets now demands extensive preparation, rapid-fire response times and deep finances (or a high spending capacity). Even if you succeed, it’s not enough to merely attend and enjoy the show. There’s now an assumption, at least among pop fans, that you could increase your enjoyment value by attending more than once (potentially going abroad), learning the performance lineup in advance and understanding the rituals to hit and fan traditions developed through past attendees.

Several fans report feeling affected by their attendance at popular events: what seemed like a choreographed performance of huge audiences, to which certain attendees arrived unfamiliar with the protocol. That 18-month concert series, producing huge revenue, showed of the extents that attendees will push to experience a cultural moment and experience their top musician play, though the actual music seems increasingly overshadowed by the show.

The Condition of Contemporary Sexuality

Sex, by contrast – a relatively cheap and accessible pleasure – is in challenging circumstances. Per contemporary studies, nearly one in four of people were intimate in an average week, while just under a third were not engaging. Elsewhere, modern figures revealed that more than 25% of individuals reported not having sexual activity at all in the last twelve months, rising from smaller percentages in earlier years. In both territories, the change has been associated with decreased encounters with younger generations. Juxtapose this with the industry driving growth for large concerts and the intense rivalry for tickets. Of course it’s not as simple as a straightforward choice between one or the other – “would you rather attend a huge concert repeatedly, or remain abstinent?” – but it’s perhaps an indication of how people see the more dependable satisfaction.

Unexpected Similarities

Intimacy and concerts are more comparable than you might think. Both represent the commencement of a bond, a real-world test of expectations or promise that may have developed just in your mind. You show up with a general notion of the probable outcome, but anticipating happily shocked – and if it turns out enjoyable or disappointing relies heavily on if your enthusiasm and hopes match theirs. Regularly you might find with someone else’s hair in your mouth, and following be hanging out for a cigarette and a moment alone alone. Similarly for each, drugs and alcohol can sometimes improve or reduce the event (but certainly help the most dire occasions easier to weather).

Seeking Harmony

The appeal to both gigs and sex hinges on finding that perfect combination between comfort and excitement, sameness and variation, challenge and comfort. Of course it happens only rarely – but it's the recollection of when it worked, the knowledge that success is achievable, that motivates us to give it another shot: to {