{"id":6796,"date":"2026-04-19T23:04:52","date_gmt":"2026-04-19T15:04:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/?p=6796"},"modified":"2026-04-19T23:04:52","modified_gmt":"2026-04-19T15:04:52","slug":"gen-z-has-underperformed-on-every-cognitive-measure-neuroscientist-cautions-against-overuse-of-tech-in-education","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/?p=6796","title":{"rendered":"'Gen Z has underperformed on every cognitive measure': Neuroscientist cautions against overuse of tech in education"},"content":{"rendered":"

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At a time when classrooms across the world are rapidly going digital, with tablets replacing textbooks and screens becoming central to learning, concerns are growing about how this shift may be affecting children\u2019s cognitive development. While technology is often seen as a tool to enhance education, some experts now argue that its overuse, especially in schools, could be doing more harm than good.<\/p>

The debate gained traction after Nikhil Kamath\u00a0shared a clip of Jared Cooney Horvath\u00a0speaking about the issue, along with his own observations as a parent.<\/p>

\u201cFor most parents, digital devices have become a pacifier, it’s a way to keep them quiet, and it’s understandable, but ends up creating a dependency in the long run,\u201d Kamath wrote.<\/p>

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For most parents, digital devices have become a pacifier\ud83d\ude2c, it’s a way to keep em quiet, and it’s understandable, but ends up creating a dependency in the long run.<\/p>

At Kiaan’s(son’s) school, no digital device is allowed and at home, we restrict screen time to 30 mins a day. But\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/NTJpBamVil<\/a><\/p>

\u2014 Nithin Kamath (@Nithin0dha) April 19, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote> <\/div>

Sharing his personal experience, he added, \u201cAt Kiaan’s school, no digital device is allowed and at home, we restrict screen time to 30 mins a day. But even then, it is crazy the addiction to reels\/clips, I normally catch him browsing through that.\u201d<\/p>

A worrying shift in learning outcomes<\/b><\/p>

In the clip, Horvath, a former teacher turned cognitive neuroscientist, made a striking claim. \u201cOur kids are less cognitively capable than we were at their age,\u201d he said, adding that he does not receive funding from big tech.<\/p>

Horvath pointed out that for over a century, each generation had outperformed the previous one on measures of cognitive development, a trend largely attributed to increased schooling.\u00a0\u201cSince we’ve been standardizing and measuring cognitive development since the late 1800s, every generation has outperformed their parents,\u201d he noted.<\/p>

Gen Z \u2018underperforming\u2019 across measures<\/b><\/p>

However, he argued that this pattern has reversed with Gen Z. \u201cGen Z is the first generation in modern history to underperform us on basically every cognitive measure we have, from basic attention to memory to literacy to numeracy to executive functioning to even general IQ, even though they go to more school than we did,\u201d he said.<\/p>

What changed around 2010<\/b><\/p>

According to Horvath, the turning point came\u00a0around 2010, when digital technology became widely integrated into classrooms. \u201cWhat happened around 2010 that decoupled schooling from cognitive development?\u201d he asked, suggesting that the answer lies in the tools used within schools.<\/p>

Data from 80 countries shows decline<\/b><\/p>

Citing international data, he said that across 80 countries, increased use of digital technology in education is linked to lower performance. \u201cKids who use computers about 5 hours per day in school for learning purposes will score over two-thirds of a standard deviation less than kids who rarely or never touch tech at school,\u201d he said.<\/p>

He added that similar trends can be observed in the United States by comparing state-level academic data with the adoption of one-to-one technology in classrooms. \u201cThe data will plateau and then start to drop,\u201d he claimed.<\/p>

\u2018Decades of research show same pattern\u2019<\/b><\/p>

While acknowledging that much of the data is correlative, Horvath said decades of academic research support the same conclusion. \u201cWe have academic research stretching back to 1962 that shows the exact same story for 60 years. When tech enters education, learning goes down,\u201d he said.<\/p>

Learning is \u2018biological\u2019, not digital<\/b><\/p>

Explaining the possible reasons, he said the issue is biological rather than technological. \u201cWe have evolved biologically to learn from other human beings, not from screens. And screens circumvent that process,\u201d he said.<\/p>

Are standards being lowered<\/b><\/p>

He also warned against changing educational standards to fit digital habits. Recalling how reading comprehension tests used to work, he said students were earlier required to read long passages and answer inferential questions. But recent changes, including in the SAT, show a shift.<\/p>

\u201cLast year, the SATs had a reading comprehension section\u2026 Here is a single sentence of 75 words. Here is one question\u2026 Last year, they redefined reading comprehension to mean 54 short sentences with one question about each. That is skimming. That’s not reading,\u201d he said.<\/p>

\u201cRather 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,\u201d he added.<\/p>

\u2018Not just phones, all screens impact learning\u2019<\/b><\/p>

Horvath concluded by cautioning that the issue goes beyond smartphones and social media. \u201cIt doesn’t matter what the size of the screen is\u2026 all of these things are also going to hurt learning, which in turn are going to hurt our kids’ cognitive development,\u201d he said.<\/p>

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