A neuroscientist warned the Senate that classroom screens are making Gen Z dumber than their parents, and the internet is not happy

A cognitive neuroscientist told members of a United States Senate subcommittee that Gen Z is the first modern generation to score lower than their parents on core cognitive skills, even though they spend more time in school. Dr. Jared Cooney Horvath made the remarks in testimony that was later detailed by Daily Dot, pointing to a steady decline in attention, memory, reading, numeracy, and overall IQ scores. He argued that classroom technology is linked to the drop, saying children “evolved biologically to learn from other human beings, not from screens.”

Since standardized cognitive testing became common in the late 1800s, Horvath said, every generation had outperformed the one before it as access to education expanded. He told the subcommittee that this trend held steady for more than a century before beginning to plateau and then reverse around 2010, with Gen Z now underperforming on nearly every cognitive measure despite spending more years in the education system than prior generations.

Horvath pointed to the widespread, largely unregulated rollout of one-to-one device programs and cloud-based learning platforms as the turning point. He cited assessment data from roughly 80 countries showing that average performance drops once a country adopts digital tools widely in schools, and he referenced state-level testing patterns that tend to plateau and then decline after device programs are introduced. He was careful to frame those patterns as correlational rather than proven cause and effect.

Screen time keeps expanding in classrooms despite mounting questions about the evidence behind it

International assessment data, including the Programme for International Student Assessment, has repeatedly shown that higher daily screen exposure in the classroom corresponds to lower scores in math, science, and reading. Horvath told lawmakers that meta-analyses covering hundreds of studies found most general-purpose digital tools perform below the effectiveness of standard classroom instruction, though narrowly designed apps used for basic drills showed some isolated gains.

He said students conditioned to switch rapidly between digital tasks struggle to sustain the focus required for deeper learning. The skepticism toward unproven technology rollouts is not limited to classrooms.

Separate scrutiny has recently fallen on Flock surveillance camera spread showing up along everyday routes, including school commutes, amid questions about how widely the devices have been deployed without public debate. Horvath argued that federal policy should require independent evidence before schools commit to large-scale digital programs, including age-appropriate limits on screen exposure in early education and public disclosure requirements for performance claims made by EdTech vendors.

A TikTok clip of Horvath’s remarks, shared by the account @brutamerica and reposted to the subreddit r/TikTokCringe, drew a wave of reaction from commenters. One person wrote that it was difficult to raise concerns about tablets in kindergarten classrooms at a parent-teacher meeting without sounding alarmist, while another pointed to the idea that meaningful learning is supposed to require effort rather than convenience.

The broader push toward unverified consumer tracking tools has also drawn attention, as license plate camera capabilities tied to personal devices have expanded with little oversight in recent years. The Daily Dot noted that it was unable to independently verify each data point Horvath cited during his testimony, and the reported details reflect his recorded remarks along with the Reddit thread’s public reaction.

Horvath has said he does not receive funding from major technology companies.