Gen Z became first generation to be less intelligent than millennials as IQ dropped, expert

Gen Z recorded the first intergenerational IQ drop. (Image credit: Pexels)

• Gen Z is the first generation to score lower in IQ than the previous one
• Experts link Gen Z's cognitive decline to more educational tech use
• Screen-based learning may impair attention, problem-solving, and reading skills.

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Recent studies suggest that Gen Z is the first and only generation to be less intelligent than the one before it, making millennials the only generation to outperform the younger generation that followed.

According to a neuroscientist, Gen-Z showed lower cognitive development due to the use of "educational technology" (EdTech). Research further revealed that Gen Z is the first group to score lower than the previous one. Compared to millennials, they showed weaker attention spans, problem-solving abilities, reading and math skills, and overall IQ.

Experts Link IQ Decline to Educational Technology

According to Dr Jared Cooney Horvath, a former teacher-turned-neuroscientist, he told the US Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation that although Gen Z had greater exposure to formal education than earlier generations, their intelligence levels declined sharply. He said education systems dependent on technology caused the generation to fall behind. He also shared data that showed that cognitive abilities began to decline around 2010.

'More than half of the time a teenager is awake, half of it is spent staring at a screen,' Horvath told the New York Post.

Addressing Congress, he and other experts said human evolution shaped people to learn through face-to-face interaction. They said screen-based learning has interfered with this process and hindered cognitive growth.

Horvath added that upgrading education technology would not help, since technology itself is the problem and does not align with how the brain solves problems, develops and retains information.

'Humans are biologically programmed to learn from other humans and from deep study, not flipping through screens for bullet point summaries,' Horvath added.

Global Trend Observed in 80+ Countries

The problem was observed not only in the United States but also in at least 80 other countries. "If you look at the data, once countries adopt digital technology widely in schools, performance goes down significantly," he said.

Horvath presented a six-decade study linking the growing presence of classroom technology with failing learning outcomes.