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Picture having a free evening. You are refreshed, open to experience, and looking to shake up your regular habits of relaxing at home. Your options is your oyster! Do you opt for a) going to a gig or b) having sex? The outcome, as typically the case with such kinds of queries, is obviously: “It varies.” Mature individuals could understandably wonder: what's the concert? With whom is the partner? Will it be going to be enjoyable?

Hardly anyone would pick a intense rock concert if the choice was one enchanted evening with a favorite star. But adjust any part of the equation, and it grows less obvious. For the participants presented with this choice by a gig organization, no additional clarification was offered – and the result came out clearly and strongly in favour of concerts.

Research Findings Show Surprising Choices

An international report, polling 40,000 people from 18 and 54 from different nations, found that live music are now the most popular form of entertainment, ranking above athletic events, cinema and – indeed – intimacy. Given the choice to only one option of enjoyment permanently, a significant portion chose concerts, versus going to the cinema (17%) and athletic competitions (14%). They were also significantly more as prone to choose seeing their favourite artist on stage (70%) rather than sex (30%).

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

Context and Considerations

Certainly it makes sense that a PR survey carried out for a live event company would result so strongly supporting live shows – and, in the freewheeling mood of a hypothetical choice, if your favourite artist is, for example Paul McCartney, you can see why watching him could prevail rather than a routine experience. Yet this binary choice between gigs or intimacy, obviously silly though it may be, is fascinating to think about considering the strange moment we face with each.

The Evolution of Gig Attendance

Lately, concert attendance has grown beyond a shared activity but a serious endeavor. Event companies rightly note that arena crowds has “grown significantly annually”, and music festivals are fully reserved quicker than before. Simply getting tickets now demands detailed strategy, rapid-fire response times and bottomless pockets (or a substantial budget). Though you’re successful, it’s not enough to just show up and watch the performance. Nowadays exists an expectation, particularly with concertgoers, that you might enhance your enjoyment value by seeing several shows (potentially going abroad), swotting up on the performance lineup beforehand and knowing your marks to perform and fan traditions created by previous crowds.

Numerous fans report feeling affected by their experience at popular events: what seemed like a orchestrated show of huge audiences, in which some individuals came unfamiliar with the steps. That 18-month event, producing huge revenue, showed of the extents that fans will travel to feel part of a significant event and watch their preferred performer perform, even if the actual music seems increasingly overshadowed by the show.

The Situation of Contemporary Sexuality

Sexual activity, on the other hand – a relatively cheap and available enjoyment – faces challenging circumstances. According to contemporary studies, about a quarter of people engaged sexually in an typical week, while about three in ten were sexually inactive. In a different nation, modern figures showed that more than 25% of adults admitted to avoiding sexual activity a single time in the previous year, up from fewer people in earlier years. In these areas, the change has been linked to decreased encounters with younger generations. Compare this with the industry expanding rapidly for large concerts and the intense rivalry for admissions. Certainly it's more complicated as a basic option between one or the other – “would you rather see a major tour repeatedly, or remain abstinent?” – but it’s perhaps an indication of what is viewed as the more consistent satisfaction.

Unexpected Similarities

Relationships and gigs are more comparable than one may assume. Both represent the initiation of a relationship, a practical trial of expectations or potential that might have amassed just in your mind. You come with a general notion of the probable outcome, but anticipating pleasantly surprised – and whether it proves good or bad relies heavily on if your enthusiasm and expectations correspond with partners. Regularly you’ll end up with someone else’s hair in your mouth, and afterwards be waiting around for a smoke and personal space alone. And, in both cases, drugs and alcohol can potentially heighten or lessen the experience (but definitely make the most dire occasions easier to weather).

Finding the Balance

The wonder to concerts and intimacy depends on locating that hard-to-find balance between comfort and excitement, consistency and change, effort and ease. Naturally it happens only rarely – but it’s the memory of when they did, the knowledge that it’s possible, that drives us to give it another shot: to {