In an unprecedented development, researchers have identified a generation believed to be less intelligent than the previous one.
Dr. Jared Cooney Horvath, a neuroscientist with a background in education, suggests that Generation Z has experienced cognitive stagnation due to their heavy dependence on modern technology, such as smartphones.
With academic performance data collected over the last two centuries, this sharp decline from Millennials to Generation Z is linked to the swift progression of digital technology. Dr. Horvath testified before a Senate committee that this downturn occurred even as students spent more time in educational settings than ever before.
Generation Z, the first to be raised with internet access both at home and in educational environments, has experienced a measurable reduction in skills crucial for problem-solving, reading, memory retention, mathematics, and classroom focus, as Dr. Horvath noted.
The Mail reports that Horvath informed the Commerce, Science, and Transportation committee that this issue is closely linked to the proliferation of ‘educational technology’ in schools, where teachers incorporate tablets or computers into the learning environment.
He argued that humans have not evolved over millions of years to comprehend short video clips and sentences and transform them into knowledge and memory without engaging with complex texts or ideas.
On January 15, Horvath stated to the committee: “More than half of the time a teenager is awake, half of it is spent staring at a screen.
“Humans are biologically programmed to learn from other humans and from deep study, not flipping through screens for bullet point summaries.”
Continuing his argument on human evolution, Horvath explained that as social beings, we developed to learn from each other through in-person discussions, not brief YouTube videos or AI-generated summaries.
Even the act of gazing at a screen can interfere with the brain’s ability to store information and focus effectively. Horvath emphasized that it isn’t about creating better apps but rather returning to the way humanity has naturally evolved to process information.
Horvath remarked: “The answer appears to be the tools we are using within schools to drive that learning.
“If you look at the data, once countries adopt digital technology widely in schools, performance goes down significantly.”
According to Horvath’s analysis of educational outcomes, the decline in cognitive performance among younger individuals started after 2010, with exam scores leveling off and then descending—for the first time ever.
In a call to action, Horvath urged policymakers: “What do kids do on computers? They skim.
“So rather than determining what do we want our children to do and gearing education towards that, we are redefining education to better suit the tool. That’s not progress, that is surrender.”