Despite a century of scholarly critique, William Fielding Ogburn’s cultural lag hypothesis (CLH) endures. The inclusion of Ogburn’s hypothesis in introductory sociology textbooks, reference books, and histories of technology lends an unwarranted authority to its scientific credibility. I critically assess Ogburn’s CLH and find that it is neither scientifically nor theoretically sound. Specifically, I discover presumptions of cultural integration and normative progressivism, the fallacy of ambiguity, problems of causal explanation, operationalization, and selective bias, which renders the CLH unmeasurable, unfalsifiable, and non-replicable. Finally, I briefly discuss the implications and make suggestions for future research.

This study explores the social approval of internet dating through the ranking of vignette scenarios. The scenarios are manipulated by the conditions of face-to-face interaction, presence of mutual acquaintance, and use of internet technology. Measures of legitimacy, predicted longevity, and social perception test for changes in attitudes of the varied ways in which a hypothetical couple meets. One of seven randomly distributed scenarios was ranked by a total of 346 undergraduates to disentangle the above conditions and test for an effect on social approval. Situated in the framework of cultural adaptation, script theory and the saturated self, support is found for low cultural approval of internet dating. Conditions of face-to-face interaction, issues of trust, and affinity to the internet demonstrate clear effects on the approval of relationships formed through internet dating.