Neuroscientist Dr. Jared Cooney Horvath, who previously worked as an educator, believes members of Gen Z have experienced slowed cognitive development. He argues this change is closely linked to heavy reliance on modern technology, particularly smartphones and constant digital stimulation.
With academic performance records stretching back roughly 200 years, researchers have been able to track changes across generations. Dr. Horvath told a Senate committee last month that the drop seen from Millennials to Gen Z happened even though young people now spend more time in school than ever before.
The neuroscientist explained that humans did not evolve over millions of years to absorb knowledge through short video clips or quick sentences. He said this style of learning makes it harder to build deep understanding or long-term memory, especially when students no longer need to wrestle with a novel or work through a complex idea.
On January 15, Horvath told the committee: “More than half of the time a teenager is awake, half of it is spent staring at a screen.”
Continuing his argument about human evolution, Horvath explained that people developed as social learners who gain knowledge through direct interaction. He said this happens best in face-to-face discussions, not through short YouTube clips or AI-generated summaries.
He also pointed out that simply looking at a screen can interrupt how the brain stores information and can weaken focus. Horvath stressed that the solution is not creating better apps, but returning to learning methods that align with how the human brain evolved.
“If you look at the data, once countries adopt digital technology widely in schools, performance goes down significantly.”
Calling for a major shift in how education policy is approached, Horvath challenged lawmakers by asking: “What do kids do on computers? They skim.”
