Has love of tech caused a fall in young people’s IQs?

YOUNG people’s IQ scores have started to deteriorate after climbing steadily since World War Two, a study has found.

The fall, which equates to about seven points per generation, is believed to have begun with those born in 1975, according to the report.

The drop in scores marks the end of a trend that has seen average IQs rise for the past 60 to 70 years by roughly three points a decade.

The decline is to do with a difference in technique in the way languages and maths are taught in schools, scientists have suggested. However, it could also be down to us spending more time on technological devices instead of reading.

The Times reported that researchers at the Ragnar Frisch Centre for Economic Research in Oslo found Norwegian men’s IQs are lower than the scores of their fathers when they were the same age.

They analysed the scores from a standard IQ test of over 730,000 men – who reported for national service between 1970 and 2009. The research is in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America Journal.