Volume 14, Number 3

The Cognitive Decline of Generation Z: Technological Dependence, Digital Overexposure and the Historic Collapse of Pisa Performance

  Authors

Ronald Jean Degen, Brazil

  Abstract

The 2022 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) revealed the most substantial global decline in student academic performance since its creation, with unprecedented reductions across mathematics, reading, and science competencies among OECD countries. Although the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated disruptions to learning, the OECD notes that downward trends were already evident before 2018, signaling structural drivers rather than transient effects. This article argues that the cognitive decline observed among Generation Z is intrinsically linked to the unprecedented digital environment surrounding their development - marked by chronic exposure to smartphones, algorithmic social media platforms, search engines, streaming services, and, more recently, generative artificial intelligence. These technologies simultaneously extend human capacities while eroding foundational cognitive functions such as attention, deep reading, working memory, executive control, and metacognitive reasoning. Integrating McLuhan’s theory of technological extension and obsolescence, Desmurget’s neurodevelopmental critique of screen overexposure, Haidt’s sociopsychological model of the “great rewiring of childhood,” and empirical findings of PISA 2022, the article presents a comprehensive framework explaining the mechanisms linking digital immersion to academic decline. The analysis demonstrates that the digital ecology of Generation Z fundamentally reshapes cognitive and motivational systems, producing the widespread learning deficits documented internationally. The article concludes with recommendations for anticipatory governance, educational policy reform, and multi-level interventions aimed at safeguarding cognitive development in an era of deep technological saturation.

  Keywords

Generation Z; PISA 2022; cognitive decline; technological dependence; McLuhan; Desmurget; Haidt; digital hyperconnectivity; generative artificial intelligence; academic performance.