The millenial youth-centric phenomenon of attending music festivals has managed to swiftly weasel its way into the social canon - for many, these behemoth outdoor festivals far usurp the appeal of your average, indoor show. As if the Jimmy Kimmel coverage of the idiots abound at this year's Coachella Valley Music Festival wasn't enough, a recent poll covered by NME indicates festival-goers would much rather spend their time getting blasted out of their minds and making poor decisions than watching bands perform. Absolutely shocking, I know.
NME has reported that the poll
[...]quizzed 2,000 people about their festival habits and opinions and found that a quarter of them had slept with a stranger at a festival while 21% had taken drugs and 13% had been in a fight.
Though none of this comes completely as a surprise, it still seems quite discouraging. Despite the damper that this may put on one's hope for the future of music (and, additionally, mankind), try not to fret - the survey also asserts that this has been going on for ages! A tradition of debauchery passed on from generation to generation, you could say:
9% of middle-aged (aged 45-54) people quizzed admitting to using drugs at a festival, a fifth confessing to drinking heavily and 10% saying they'd slept with someone they met on site. Only 45% of people polled said they went to festivals for the music.
The single most interesting part of the survey results is that out of the 2,000 individuals polled, 47% said they frequently do things that they would "never consider doing outside of the music festival environment" while at a festival. These depraved acts, one could argue, most prominently include leaving the house clad only in body paint, animal masks, floral crowns and/or politically incorrect headdresses.
It might be wise to take the data - which is, at times, seemingly ridiculous - with a grain of salt. I mean, think about it: if someone came up to you with a clipboard and questionnaire at a festival, how would you respond? Perhaps by giving them the answers you knew they were looking for so that you could, well, go back to having a good time partying.
Via NME
