By Emmanuel Nduka Obisue
People born between 1997 and 2010, commonly referred to as Generation Z, are less cognitively capable than earlier generations, according to findings from a recent international study.
The study, led by neuroscientist and educator Jared Cooney Horvath, attributes the decline largely to Gen Z’s heavy reliance on digital technology, particularly excessive screen time both at home and in schools.
Speaking before the United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation in January, Horvath said members of Gen Z display weaker attention spans, poorer problem-solving skills, and declining proficiency in reading and mathematics compared to previous generations. “A sad fact our generation has to face is that our kids are less cognitively capable than we were at their age. Every generation has outperformed their parents until Gen Z,” he told the New York Post.
He added that many young people tend to overestimate their intellectual abilities. “The smarter people think they are, the dumber they actually are,” he said.
According to the neuroscientist, Gen Z students are also underperforming academically compared to Millennials, largely because they spend an excessive amount of time on digital devices rather than engaging in deep learning or face-to-face interactions. “More than half of a teenager’s waking hours are spent staring at a screens. Humans are biologically programmed to learn from other humans and from deep study, not from flipping through screens for bullet-point summaries,” Horvath added.
He warned that the widespread use of digital tools in classrooms has encouraged skimming rather than critical thinking. “What do kids do on computers? They skim. Instead of deciding what we want our children to do and shaping education around that, we are redesigning education to suit the tool. That is not progress; it is surrender,” he said.
Horvath revealed that similar academic declines have been recorded in at least 80 countries, linking the trend to the unregulated adoption of digital technology in education systems. “If you look at the data, once countries adopt digital technology widely in schools, performance drops significantly,” he stated.
The study concluded that unrestricted use of phones, tablets, and laptops during learning hours has turned students into surface-level learners, undermining deep comprehension. As a solution, Horvath urged governments to develop new education policies aimed at protecting and maximizing the cognitive development of the next cohort, known as Generation Alpha.
