Scientist reveals first generation ever to be less intelligent than their parents

For the first time in recorded human history, scientists have discovered a generation they claim is actually less intelligent than the one that came before it.

Neuroscientist Dr Jared Cooney Horvath, who previously worked as an educator, argues that people in Gen Z have become cognitively stunted as a result of their over-reliance on new technology, like smartphones.

With records being kept on academic achievement for the past 200 years, this sudden decline from Millennials to Gen Zers was attributed to this rapid digital development, with Dr Horvath explaining before a Senate committee last month that this drop happened despite young people spending longer than ever in school.

Gen Z are the first age group to grow up with easy access to the internet both at home and in school, which Dr Horvath explained has caused a provable loss in skills related to problem solving, reading, memory, math, and paying attention in class.

The prevalence of smartphones at home and school was pointed to as a reason for the decline (Getty Stock Image)

The Mail reports that Horvath told the Commerce, Science, and Transportation committee that this is directly tied to the rise of 'educational technology' in school, where teachers rely on tablets or computers in school as part of the learning process.

The neuroscientist claimed that humans had not developed over the course of millions of years of evolution to digest short video clips and sentences and convert them into understanding and memory, without having to work at a novel or think 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.

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

The increasing use of technology in school ignores how humans have involved (Getty Stock Image)

Continuing his argument about human evolution, Horvath explained that, as social creatures, we had developed to learn from each other in face-to-face discussions. Not a short YouTube video or AI summary.

Even the act of looking at a screen can disrupt the process through which our brains store information, as well as hurt our ability to focus. He also argued that it was not a case of developing better apps, but returning to how humanity had evolved to process information.

Horvath said: "The answer appears to be the tools we are using within schools to drive that learning.

"If you look at the data, once countries adopt digital technology widely in schools, performance goes down significantly."

Calling for a sea change in how those in power look at education, Horvath asked legislators: "What do kids do on computers? They skim.

"So rather 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."

• Woman who charged iPhone to 80% every day for a year reveals impact it had on battery health
• Keira Knightley reveals why her two children aren't 'allowed' to use social media
• Urgent warning issued for people to turn off their phone's Face ID for terrifying reason
• Scientist reveals exactly what our first contact with aliens will be like and it's not like the movies