Patna: For more than a century, human intelligence scores appeared to follow a steady upward curve. Improved access to education, better nutrition, healthcare advances and increasingly complex environments contributed to rising IQ levels across much of the world – a phenomenon widely known as the “Flynn effect”.
But new analysis presented to a US Senate committee suggests that trend may have reversed.
Dr Jared Kuny-Horvath, a neuroscientist, told lawmakers that cognitive measures including IQ, memory, attention span, reading comprehension, maths and problem-solving skills have declined among young people when compared with previous generations. Drawing on research data from nearly 80 countries, he argued that those aged roughly 15 to 27 – often described as Generation Z – may be the first cohort since the late 19th century to record lower scores than their parents.
According to Horvath, the shift became noticeable after 2010, coinciding with the rapid expansion of smartphones, social media platforms and short-form video content. He suggested that heavy reliance on digital technology is reshaping how young people consume information – and not always for the better.
“The human brain is not designed to learn through fragmented snippets of information,” he told the committee. He argued that deep reading, sustained focus and face-to-face interaction remain critical for cognitive development, while constant exposure to screens and rapid content switching may undermine those processes.
The findings come amid growing concern about young people’s reading habits. In both the US and UK, the proportion of children who report reading daily for pleasure has declined in recent years, with a sharper drop recorded during and after the Covid-19 pandemic. Researchers have also linked excessive screen time to mood disturbances and reduced attention spans among adolescents.
Several countries have responded by reassessing the role of technology in classrooms. Sweden recently announced plans to scale back the use of digital devices in schools, returning to printed textbooks and handwritten work. France, the Netherlands, the UK and Finland have introduced or proposed restrictions on tablets and laptops in certain educational settings. A recent UNESCO report similarly cautioned that technology in education should only be used where it demonstrably enhances learning outcomes.
Horvath also warned against what he described as overconfidence among some young people about their technological fluency. While Gen Z is often characterised as digitally native, he suggested that familiarity with devices does not necessarily translate into deeper cognitive skills. “Being technologically adept is not the same as being intellectually developed,” he told lawmakers.
The debate remains contentious. Some scholars argue that traditional IQ tests may not fully capture modern forms of intelligence, such as digital literacy, multitasking or creative problem-solving. Others caution that declines in specific skills do not necessarily signal a broad reduction in intellectual capacity.
Even so, the apparent reversal of a century-long rise in cognitive scores has prompted renewed scrutiny of how children learn – and how a screen-saturated world may be reshaping the human mind.
