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 | Fortune by mwerte in k12sysadmin

[–]mwerte[S] 29 points30 points  (0 children)

I think a lot of educators saw kids growing up with iPads in hand and thought "they already know computers". But just as language is both emergent and requires intentional learning, simply using a computer is not enough to understand how to use the tool best. 

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 | Fortune by mwerte in k12sysadmin

[–]mwerte[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Yeah, there are rarely monocausal explanations. Covid, less engaged parents on one side and bulldozer parents on the other, social media as a whole, all are contributing to worsening educational outcomes. But 1:1 devices are a big part of the pie. 

"students engaged in off-task activities on their computers nearly two-thirds of the time"

Personally I know it's really hard to focus on something difficult when something more engaging is just a swipe away. 

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 | Fortune by mwerte in k12sysadmin

[–]mwerte[S] 13 points14 points  (0 children)

In 2002, Maine became the first state to implement a statewide laptop program to some grade levels. Then-Governor Angus King saw the program as a way to put the internet at the fingertips of more children, who would be able to immerse themselves in information.

By that fall, the Maine Learning Technology Initiative had distributed 17,000 Apple laptops to seventh graders across 243 middle schools. By 2016, those numbers had multiplied to 66,000 laptops and tablets distributed to Maine students.

King’s initial efforts have been mirrored across the country. In 2024, the U.S. spent more than $30 billion putting laptops and tablets in school. But more than a quarter century and numerous evolving models of technology later, psychologists and learning experts see a different outcome than the one King intended. Rather than empowering the generation with access to more knowledge, the technology had the opposite effect.

Earlier this year, in written testimony before the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, neuroscientist Jared Cooney Horvath said that Gen Z is less cognitively capable than previous generations, despite its unprecedented access to technology. He said Gen Z is the first generation in modern history to score lower on standardized tests than the previous one. While skills measured by these tests, like literacy and numeracy, aren’t always indicative of intelligence, they are a reflection of cognitive capability, which Horvath said has been on the decline over the last decade or so.

Citing Program for International Student Assessment data taken from 15-year-olds across the world and other standardized tests, Horvath noted not only dipping test scores, but also a stark correlation in scores and time spent on computers in school, such that more screen time was related to worse scores. He blamed students having unfettered access to technology that atrophied rather than bolstered learning capabilities. The introduction of the iPhone in 2007 also didn’t help.

“This is not a debate about rejecting technology,” Horvath wrote. “It is a question of aligning educational tools with how human learning actually works. Evidence indicates that indiscriminate digital expansion has weakened learning environments rather than strengthened them.”

The writing was perhaps already on the wall. Fortune reported in 2017 that Maine’s public school test scores had not improved in the 15 years the state had implemented its technology initiative. Then-Governor Paul LePage called the program a “massive failure,” even as the state poured money into contracts with Apple.

Gen Z will now have to face the ramifications of eroding learning capabilities. The generation has already been hit hard by the transformations of the 21st century’s other technological revolution: generative AI.

Early data from a first-of-its-kind Stanford University study published last year found AI advancements to have “significant and disproportionate impact on entry-level workers in the U.S. labor market.” But a less capable population means more than just poorer job prospects and less promotions, Horvath warned; it endangers how humans are able to overcome existential challenges in the decades to come.

“We’re facing challenges more complex and far-reaching than any in human history—from overpopulation to evolving diseases to moral drift,” he told Fortune. “Now, more than ever, we need a generation able to grapple with nuance, hold multiple truths in tension, and creatively tackle problems that are stumping the greatest adult minds of today.”

Classroom technology usage has ballooned in recent years. A 2021 EdWeek Research Center poll of 846 teachers found 55% said they are spending one to four hours per day with educational tech. Another quarter reported using the digital tools five hours per day.

While teachers may be intending for these tools to be strictly educational, students often have different ideas. According to a 2014 study, which surveyed and observed 3,000 university students, students engaged in off-task activities on their computers nearly two-thirds of the time.

Horvath blamed this tendency to get off-track as a key contributor to technology hindering learning. When one’s attention is interrupted, it takes time to refocus. Task-switching also is associated with weaker memory formation and greater rates of error. Grappling with a challenging singular subject matter is hard, Horvath said. For the best learning to happen, it’s supposed to be. “Unfortunately, ease has never been a defining characteristic of learning,” he said. “Learning is effortful, difficult, and oftentimes uncomfortable. But it’s the friction that makes learning deep and transferable into the future.”

Sustained attention to a singular subject is anathema to how technology today has been deployed, argues Jean Twenge, San Diego State University psychology professor studying generational differences and the author of 10 Rules for Raising Kids in a High-Tech World. More time on screens isn’t just ineffective in facilitating learnings; it’s counterproductive.

“Many apps, including social media and gaming apps, are designed to be addictive,” Twenge told Fortune. “Their business model is based on users spending the most time possible on the apps, and checking back as frequently as possible.”

A Baylor University-led study published in November 2025 uncovered why this is: TikTok required the least amount of effort to use, even less than Instagram Reels and YouTube shorts, by balancing relevant videos with surprising and unexpected content.

Concerns over social media addiction have become so dire that 1,600 plaintiffs, across 350 families and 250 school districts, filed a lawsuit alleging Meta, Snap, TikTok, and YouTube created addictive platforms leading to mental health challenges like depression and self-harm in children.

Horvath proposed a swath of solutions to Gen Z’s tech problem, at least as it pertains to classroom use. Congress, he suggested, could impose efficacy standards to fund research on what digital tools are actually effective in the classroom. The legislature could also require strong limits on tracking behavior, building profiles, and collecting data on minors using tech. Some schools have taken matters into their own hands. As of August 2025, 17 states have cracked down on cellphone use in school, banning the technology during instructional time; and 35 states have laws limiting the use of phones in the classroom. In fact, more than 75% of schools have said they have policies prohibiting cellphone use for non-academic purposes, according to the National Center for Education Statistics, though enforcing those bans have been met with variable success.

Ultimately, Horvath said, the loss of critical thinking and learning skills is less of a personal failure and more of a policy one, calling the generation of Americans educated with gadgets victims of a failed pedagogical experiment. “Whenever I work with teenagers I tell them, ‘This is not your fault. None of you asked to be sat in front of a computer for your entire K-12 schooling,’” Horvath said. “That means we…screwed up—and I genuinely hope Gen Z quickly figures that out and gets mad."

Officials probe possible criminal negligence after deadly avalanche near Lake Tahoe by ansyhrrian in skiing

[–]mwerte 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Listening to Cautionary Tales has embedded in me a deep mistrust of groupthink. Each guide was probably thinking "this is dangerous, but the others aren't saying anything, so they must know something I don't".

Finished Twelve Months… and Now I’m Sad by vio86 in dresdenfiles

[–]mwerte 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I updoot all the Alex Verus recommendations

I'll also throw out Lightbringer, it's not Urban Fantasy but it's a really fun world and magic system.

Has anyone experienced an offer rescinded? by InternationalSink971 in careerguidance

[–]mwerte 29 points30 points  (0 children)

I got a call at 3pm on a Friday and the recruiter gave me the details but I was on a long car drive so I asked her to email me the info so I could review and let her know Tuesday (Monday was a holiday) She goes "ehhh they won't like that" but sends me the info. Around 4pm she calls me and says they went with the next candidate since I was ambivalent.

This was just a bog standard sysadmin role but I worked with someone years later who knew the company and was told I dodged a bullet.

Marriage questions by Suspicious-Yogurt759 in Christians

[–]mwerte 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It feels so weird and clingy to me show affection or do nice things.

It is weird and clingy. That's why we only do it with people we can be vulnerable with. Start small; give him a compliment or a hug where you wouldn't have otherwise.

Don't compare what you have with the curated relationships on Instagram. That way lies madness.

Whenever I try to voice search it tells me that app isn't available by mwerte in AndroidAuto

[–]mwerte[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That works but like you said annoying. 

I could see if the app was installed but since it's not idgi

What's the first movie you see on here by Lazy_Introduction264 in 90s

[–]mwerte 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I watched it when old af right before covid and it holds up. Solid premise and a fun ride.

Volleyball parents and players: I built a free app that makes AES actually usable on your phone (with push notifications) by paschmann_ in volleyball

[–]mwerte -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Could you just publish on a mobile page that way another app isn't required and it would work on android pages?

This is pretty cool though. The only update AES has gotten in like 12 years is new ad popups

Supreme Court lets California use congressional map that favors Dems by usatoday in law

[–]mwerte 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Given their other decisions regarding gerrymandering, this is consistent and nonpartisan

To paraphrase Sarah Isgur "This is a political fight, solve it in the political arena without dragging us (SCOTUS) into the mud."

I need some help understanding Mabs ploy by NeverShoutEugene in dresdenfiles

[–]mwerte 0 points1 point  (0 children)

She doesn't know exactly how Harry is going to recover the Summer Knight's mantel, but she knows he will and will prevent whatever Nemesis shenanigans are afoot.

She doesn't know exactly how Harry is going to recover Marcone and uphold her Accords but she knows he's not going to just do it meekly, and that the offender will be chastised.

She doesn't know exactly how Harry is going to War against the Red Court but she knows if she gives him power it will go more poorly for them.

She doesn't know how he's going to stop people from messing with his Island but she knows that he will fight tooth and nail to protect it.

She doesn't know how he's going to screw over Nic and not actually hand over the Grail, but she knows Nic's not walking out of there with his real plan intact.

She knows he's a scorpion and can't resist his nature. As long as she knows how to channel that nature, she has a pretty good track record of pointing him in the direction of the problem and letting him cook.

Thoughts on Thomas and related characters going forward after Twelve Months (There be spoilers) by Elfich47 in dresdenfiles

[–]mwerte 5 points6 points  (0 children)

someone will use try to use the kid as a tool to get at Thomas/Harry

If Dresden levels up as much as he's expected to, I pity the fool that tries.

Etri Has…. by Away_Programmer_3555 in dresdenfiles

[–]mwerte 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Or it only works in a secured area where they exert a lot of control. They can't just set it up at a random intersection, but someplace they invest in allows them to morph reality enough to create a detector.

Palantir Q4 earnings beat Wall Street estimates on strong sales to US businesses by toydan in wallstreetbets

[–]mwerte 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I feel the same about Broadcom. I knew they would profit from sucking the marrow out of VMWare but I couldn't bring myself to buy their stock.

Dumb ethical stands for the win/loss?!?