15/02/2026
Neuroscientist Jared Cooney Horvath told a United States Senate committee that Generation Z may be the first modern generation to show lower performance on some cognitive skills compared with previous ones despite spending more years in school.
He pointed to heavy smartphone use, constant screen time, and digital learning environments as possible reasons. Teenagers today spend a large share of their waking hours on screens, often consuming fast, short-form content instead of deep reading and focused problem-solving.
Some researchers say long-term gains in IQ scores have slowed or reversed in parts of the world, with declines reported in attention, memory, reading comprehension, and math reasoning.
However, scientists emphasize that intelligence trends are complex and influenced by many factors including education systems, technology use, lifestyle changes, and broader social shifts — and the debate is still ongoing.
