{"id":1769,"date":"2026-06-22T12:48:10","date_gmt":"2026-06-22T12:48:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/?p=1769"},"modified":"2026-06-22T12:48:10","modified_gmt":"2026-06-22T12:48:10","slug":"gen-z-the-first-generation-not-smarter-than-their-parents","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/?p=1769","title":{"rendered":"Gen Z: The first generation not smarter than their parents"},"content":{"rendered":"
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For more than a century, each generation reliably tested smarter than the one before it.\u00a0\u00a0This was the\u00a0Flynn Effect \u2014 the steady rise in I.Q. scores of roughly three points per decade, driven by better nutrition, education, and public health, and a more complex environment.<\/p>

Read more Not standing by James<\/a><\/p>\n

That long upward march\u00a0appears to have ended with Gen Z.\u00a0\u00a0We are now witnessing the first modern generation that is not outperforming its parents on key measures of cognitive ability.<\/p>\n

Large-scale international assessments tell the story.\u00a0\u00a0PISA,\u00a0TIMSS, and other standardized tests show clear declines or stalls in literacy, numeracy, problem-solving, and executive function among Gen Z cohorts (born roughly 1997\u20132012) compared to Millennials.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Neuroscientist Dr. Jared Cooney Horvath,\u00a0, highlighted data showing measurable drops in attention span, working memory, and deep reasoning skills that began accelerating around 2010\u20132015, the exact period when smartphones and constant screen exposure became ubiquitous in schools and homes.<\/p>\n

This a historic break in the pattern that defined modern progress.\u00a0\u00a0Previous generations stood on the shoulders of those who came before them.\u00a0\u00a0Gen Z is the first in a long time to step backward.<\/p>\n

The evidence points strongly to environmental and cultural factors rather than genetics. Top among them:<\/p>\n