Evidence suggests the Internet might make people smarter—to a point. At least that’s what Ben Taylor of FindTheBest.com believes.

Taylor, writing for Time, analyzed country-by-country Internet penetration figures (the percentage of people with access to the Internet) from 2000 to 2012, then compared those figures with student test results from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Countries with low Internet penetration in 2000 (10-20%), which added lots of online citizens by 2012 (now 50-80% in Internet penetration) also saw marked improvements in their test scores.

Taylor cautions that these corollaries are far from conclusive. “While access to the Internet potentially has contributed to better test scores in many countries (perhaps through better access to information, more self-learning, and more ways to connect with classmates), there are several other factors at play, from changes in wealth to improved education systems to other forms of technology outside the Internet,” Taylor writes.

“Even if we stick to the hypothesis—that more Internet means better test scores—we should note the hypothesis fails rather obviously among the world’s most plugged-in nations. Yes, the jump from 10 percent Internet penetration to 50 percent seems to lead to smarter students, but from 50 percent to 90 percent, test scores leveled off or got worse. Even with all those hilarious cat gifs, it appears the Internet might sometimes be too much of a good thing.” (Time)

Paul Asay has covered religion for The Washington Post, Christianity Today, Beliefnet.com and The (Colorado Springs) Gazette. He writes about culture for Plugged In and wrote the Batman book God on the Streets of Gotham (Tyndale). He lives in Colorado Springs with wife, Wendy, and his two children. Follow him on Twitter.