科学家们已经确认，长期存在的弗林效应出现了逆转——这一效应大约持续了200年，表现为代际间平均智力（通过智商和认知测试测量）的上升趋势。
在现代有记录的历史上，第一次，Z世代（大致出生于1997–2012年）在关键认知领域表现出比前几代人更低的表现，包括注意力、记忆、读写能力、计算能力、执行功能、问题解决能力和总体智商——尽管他们在正规教育中的时间比以往任何时候都要长。
神经科学家和教育家贾里德·库尼·霍瓦斯博士（Jared Cooney Horvath，博士，教育硕士）于2026年1月15日在美国参议院商务、科学和运输委员会作证，强调了这一转变。在他的书面证词中，他指出，在发达世界的大部分地区，儿童的认知发展在过去二十年中已经停滞或逆转，从2000年代中期开始在国际评估（如PISA、TIMSS）和其他大规模数据中显现出下降，并在2010年后加速。
霍瓦斯认为，主要驱动因素不是教育时间的减少，而是数字屏幕和教育技术（EdTech）在课堂中的广泛整合。他认为，人脑是为通过面对面互动和持续注意力进行深入、专注的学习而进化的，而不是设备所鼓励的碎片化浏览或不断任务切换。
他的证词中的关键点包括：
- 青少年现在清醒时间的一半以上都花在屏幕上，其中很大一部分在学校涉及电脑或平板电脑——这往往导致偏离任务的行为和更浅层的加工。
- 来自元分析和国家/国际研究的证据显示了一个一致的模式：课堂屏幕暴露度越高，与阅读、数学、科学和高级推理方面的较差结果相关。
- 数字工具可能有助于在受控环境中进行狭窄、重复的技能练习，但在核心学术情境中，它们往往会减少理解深度、保持力和批判性思维。
霍瓦斯将此描述为人类认知与数字平台设计方式（旨在捕捉和碎片化注意力）之间的“结构性不匹配”，警告说，不受控制的教育技术采用可能对劳动力技能、创新和社会推理造成长期损害。
[Horvath, J. C. (2026). Written testimony before the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. U.S. Senate]
Scientists have identified a reversal of the long-standing Flynn effect—the roughly 200-year trend of rising average intelligence (measured via IQ and cognitive tests) across generations.
For the first time in modern recorded history, Generation Z (born roughly 1997–2012) shows lower performance than previous generations in key cognitive domains, including attention, memory, literacy, numeracy, executive function, problem-solving, and general IQ—despite spending more years in formal education than ever before.
Neuroscientist and educator Dr. Jared Cooney Horvath, PhD, MEd, testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation on January 15, 2026, highlighting this shift. In his written testimony, he stated that cognitive development in children across much of the developed world has stalled or reversed over the past two decades, with declines evident in international assessments (e.g., PISA, TIMSS) and other large-scale data starting around the mid-2000s and accelerating post-2010.
Horvath attributes the primary driver not to reduced schooling, but to the widespread integration of digital screens and educational technology (EdTech) inrooms. He argues that human brains evolved for deep, focused learning through face-to-face interaction and sustained attention, not fragmented skimming or constant task-switching encouraged by devices.
Key points from his testimony include:
- Teens now spend over half their waking hours on screens, with significant portions in school involving computers or tablets—often leading to off-task behavior and shallower processing.
- Evidence from meta-analyses and national/international studies shows a consistent pattern: higherroom screen exposure correlates with weaker outcomes in reading, math, science, and higher-order reasoning.
- Digital tools may aid narrow, repetitive skill practice in controlled settings, but in core academic contexts, they tend to reduce depth of understanding, retention, and critical thinking.
Horvath describes this as a "structural mismatch" between human cognition and how digital platforms are designed (to capture and fragment attention), warning that unchecked EdTech adoption risks long-term harm to workforce skills, innovation, and societal reasoning.
[Horvath, J. C. (2026). Written testimony before the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. U.S. Senate]
