The U.S. spent $30 billion to ditch textbooks for laptops and tablets: The result is the first generation less cognitively capable than their parents

February 22, 2026 - 13:21

A massive $30 billion national investment to replace traditional textbooks with laptops and tablets in American schools may have backfired, with emerging evidence suggesting it has created the first generation less cognitively capable than their parents. This startling conclusion is fueling a serious reevaluation of educational technology's role.

Neuroscientist Jared Cooney Horvath is among the experts sounding the alarm. He argues that unfettered access to digital devices has fundamentally altered how young people process information, often at the expense of deep reading, sustained focus, and critical thinking skills developed through more traditional, analog learning methods.

Horvath places responsibility squarely on the older generations who championed this tech-centric shift. “I genuinely hope Gen Z quickly figures that out and gets mad,” he stated, bluntly adding that these decision-makers "screwed up" by prioritizing digital access without fully understanding its cognitive consequences. The concern is that constant connectivity and fragmented information intake are rewiring neural pathways, potentially impairing memory consolidation and analytical reasoning.

This debate now moves beyond classroom budgets into the realm of brain development, forcing educators and policymakers to question whether the tools intended to create a smarter generation may have inadvertently done the opposite. The call is growing for a more balanced, evidence-based approach to technology in education.