Mike DomitrzPresident, Author, and Speaker on Respect, The Center for Respect, Inc. · Author & Speaker on Respect for Schools, Corporations, & the Military since 1990 (has reached

CHOOSE the culture you want!

28 Sept 2023 · 1 min

Watch on YouTube

0:47

In this brief solo talk, the speaker challenges the widely‑repeated claim that today’s teens and college students live in a pervasive “hookup culture.” He argues that while short‑term casual encounters may occur in high school and college, they do not define a lasting cultural norm. By age 35, the prevailing social expectation in the United States is marriage or a committed dating relationship, indicating a broader “marriage‑dating culture.” The speaker further asserts that culture is not an autonomous force; it is created and reshaped by the choices of individual people. Consequently, the path to healthier relationships and a healthier overall culture lies in each person deliberately building and modeling healthy, committed relationships.

Chapters

People like to think we're in a hookup culture. How many of you hear that in college and high school? It's a hookup culture. Have you heard that? Say, yes, I have. Yes, I have. Here's proof that's not true. By age 35 in this country, I'm not saying this is fair, but at age 35 in this country, what is expected to be your relationship status? Married. We live in a marriage dating culture. The difference is, in high school and college, people go through hookup phases. Not everybody does, some do, and then they go, we're in a hookup culture. No, you're not. Stop using the culture as an excuse for individual choices. By the way, a culture does not exist. Individuals do who define the culture. So if I'm individually making choices, I'm impacting the culture. So the way that we keep this going, healthy relationships, is by each of us individually building healthy relationships that shifts the culture. Right? But it's an individual thing.