cultural lag

or culture lag

noun

, Sociology.

1. slowness in the rate of change of one part of a culture in relation to another part, resulting in a maladjustment within society, as from the failure of the nonmaterial culture to keep abreast of developments in the material culture.

cultural lag

noun

1. the difference in the rate of change between two parts of a culture

Example Sentences

Match Group But amid all this chatter, it was obvious that the fundamental problem with dating apps is the fundamental problem with every technological innovation: cultural lag.

From The Verge

He’s sort of a father-image with a cultural lag.

From Literature

“We have a cultural lag,” says Karen Fingerman, a professor of human development and family sciences at the University of Texas, Austin, and our beliefs and norms haven’t kept up with the changes in the ways parents and grown kids relate today.

From New York Times

“We have a cultural lag where our views of masculinity have not caught up to the change in the job market,” he said.

From New York Times

“No, we’re very schmaltzy people. And there’s something called cultural lag: our marriage habits may change much more rapidly than our marriage belief systems. So even though a great many people don’t really know if it will be forever, they’ll use the term, and have it in their heads, along with a whole lot of hopes and dreams.”

From The Guardian