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Imagine having a free evening. You feel refreshed, ready for adventure, and looking to shake up your usual routine of evening scrolling. Life itself offers possibilities! Do you opt for a) going to a gig or b) being with a partner? The answer, as frequently seen with these types of questions, is clearly: “It varies.” Thinking adults might logically ask: what's the show? Who is the companion? Will it be likely to be enjoyable?

Few would choose a Limp Bizkit/Slipknot/Korn triple bill if the other option was a magical night with a favorite star. But adjust any part of the equation, and it turns less clearcut. For the thousands surveyed asked this question from a major concert promoter, no further context was given – and the answer emerged decisively and overwhelmingly in favour of gigs.

Survey Results Reveal Surprising Choices

A global study, polling 40,000 people aged between 18 and 54 in multiple countries, revealed that gigs currently stand as the most popular pastime, surpassing athletic events, cinema and – absolutely – sex. If restricted to a single form of entertainment for the rest of their lives, 39% of respondents picked concerts, against film attendance (17%) and games (14%). The group was significantly more as inclined to select watching their top musician in concert (70%) rather than intimacy (30%).

You show up anticipating delightfully amazed – and frequently you could wind up with a stranger's hair in your mouth

Perspectives and Analysis

Certainly it makes sense that a marketing research conducted for a concert promoter should come out so strongly in favour of concerts – and, in the freewheeling spirit of a either-or question, if your preferred musician is, say a legendary singer, you can see why seeing him could prevail rather than a routine experience. But this binary choice between gigs or sex, clearly absurd even if it seems, is interesting to reflect on considering the strange moment we’re at with both.

The Change of Concert Culture

In recent years, concert attendance has evolved into more than a group event but a competitive sport. Live organizations appropriately highlight that stadium attendance has “increased threefold annually”, and music festivals get booked up quicker than before. Merely acquiring tickets now needs military-level planning, instant reactions and bottomless pockets (or a generous credit card limit). Though you’re successful, it isn't sufficient to merely attend and experience the event. Nowadays exists an expectation, particularly with music enthusiasts, that you might enhance your enjoyment value by seeing several shows (even travelling internationally), learning the set list ahead of time and memorizing the cues to follow and audience interactions developed through earlier audiences.

Many concertgoers report feeling shaken by their attendance at major tours: what seemed like a scripted production of massive crowds, to which particular fans turned up unfamiliar with the steps. Those lengthy tour, generating billions, demonstrated of the extents that people will go to feel part of a historic occasion and watch their preferred performer sing, even if the real performance grows somewhat secondary to the show.

The Situation of Modern Intimacy

Sexual activity, on the other hand – a relatively cheap and accessible pleasure – experiences difficult times. According to recent surveys, about a quarter of people engaged sexually in an regular period, while about three in ten were sexually inactive. Elsewhere, recent data indicated that over a quarter of people reported not having sexual activity even once in the last twelve months, up from lower numbers in earlier years. Across these regions, the shift has been associated with decreased encounters among younger people. Juxtapose this with the market expanding rapidly for stadium extravaganzas and the intense rivalry for passes. Of course it’s not as simple as a straightforward choice between both alternatives – “do you prefer experience a popular event repeatedly, or stay celibate?” – but it’s perhaps an signal of what is viewed as the more reliable enjoyment.

Unexpected Similarities

Intimacy and concerts are more comparable than one may assume. Both represent the activation of a connection, a practical trial of expectations or potential that might have amassed solely in your imagination. You show up with a general notion of what might happen, but hopeful of being happily shocked – and how it ends up enjoyable or disappointing depends very much on how your vibe and hopes align with others. Regularly you’ll end up with another person's locks in your mouth, and later be lingering for a cigarette and a moment alone on your own. And, in both cases, drugs and alcohol can potentially heighten or lessen the situation (but certainly help the worst situations more bearable).

Seeking Harmony

The appeal to live events and relationships relies on locating that elusive sweet spot between the known and the new, consistency and change, challenge and comfort. Of course it's uncommon – but it’s the memory of when it worked, the understanding that it can happen, that motivates us to try again: to {