My thoughts now are I would probably see an escort just to avoid the search and mating rituals to accomplish a sexual encounter.
What's left unsaid here is that young guys actually have more time on their hands to invest in the dating rituals. When you are in college or grad school or living under Mommy And Daddy's roof and do not have to pay a mortgage, there is time on the hands that can actually be spent on the dating rituals. However if you are a professional working long hours and then must invest free time on business marketing and dining/socializing with clients, there is precious little time to accomplish anything other than Pay for Play.
When I was in my 20s I dated, had a few girlfriends and one serious one for about 2 years. After grad school, I went a long time off the dating scene just struggling to build myself professionally and gain experience. Once I achieved my professional comfort level is when I returned to hobbying and it was after age 35 that I began paying for sex on a serial basis, for no other reason than it was easier and in some ways as affordable as dating, considering what I wanted.
As Oliver has said, guys paying for sex in their 20s is a recipe for developing poor social skills and spoliation. It's healthy and normal to have women in your lives, and not just as sexual partners but some as completely platonic friends. I maintain a cadre of female friends I have dinner and coffee with and they are completely platonic relationships. Some are friends from college or law school, some do charitable fundraising work with my charity of choice, and some belong to various civic organizations and I have business or marketing connections to them. My concern if that these guys who pay for play at an early age become socially retarded as far as developing normal relationships- including platonic relationships with women. Social skills should always be developed, and not stunted.
I do recall one young guy who appeared at the parties some years ago, who told me he was petrified of women in real life. Even at the escort parties he was afraid to approach and speak to escorts, and he almost had a nervous breakdown when an escort he liked walked into the room. This guy had a serious social anxiety disorder of some kind, and it wasn't being treated by using his meager earnings to pay for escorts. He needed to develop social skills with woman and it was borderline criminal to allow this guy to see escorts and invite him to parties. A man has to learn to socially stand on his own two feet and cultivate relationships naturally. This guy sought me out at a party and described in detail his anxiety with women and I did not know how to counsel him. In retrospect I should have told him more firmly to leave the hobby immediately, which he eventually did. At the parties I have seen other similar types of younger men (not nearly as bad) and one I know for fact was smart enough to listen, get out and he now has a girlfriend and is well adjusted and doing well. He is still on MERB but just seeing escorts occasionally or not at all.