Instructions by QR code

I expect like me when they can’t understand something I ask someone to help.
Eventually there will be less and less people who are tech phobic

You can usually Google instructions and print them out. Your local library or teenager can help.
I'm all for less paper as I have loads of instruction leaflets ( with only 2 or 3 pages in English) that I never look at.
While in Spain last year there were no printed menus in restaurants. All relied on QR codes.

As I said, it isn't a problem for us and we have printed the relevant pages out but that wouldn't work for everyone.

We tried Google first but found the instruction almost impossible to access. We even ask a son in law who works in IT to do the exercise for us - to little avail.

Not everyone has a properly qualified son in law - my brother has no children.

Very true Kitty.
DH wouldn't be able to access the instructions but he never looks at them anyway. He'd just start pushing buttons and turning knobs.

QR codes have been around since the 90s, I do think that is enough time for people to have learnt how to use them.

I use ManualsOnline.com for looking up instructions. Nothing these days seems to come with detailed operating instructions.

Pittcity

Very true Kitty.
DH wouldn't be able to access the instructions but he never looks at them anyway. He'd just start pushing buttons and turning knobs.

Ah, a man after my own heart. My OH gets very annoyed because I don’t read instructions.

Theexwife

QR codes have been around since the 90s, I do think that is enough time for people to have learnt how to use them.

My brother doesn't do technology!

QR codes are a PITA for someone with a hand tremor who can't hold the phone steady.

I m reasonably techno but I ve never had to read QR codes on anything Never bought anything with only a QR code I ve had new fridge, a freezer, tumble dryer, cooker and washing machine in the last two years They all had manuals with them

I don't understand QR codes in all honesty

My phone reads them automatically in camera mode. I must admit, I prefer things printed on paper. Having said that, though, I rarely search through my file of user manuals. I simply don't have the patience - so just look things up on Google. It's just easy and convenient to type in the make and model number.

QR codes are things I generally try to avoid. More to do with being someone who deals in words rather than pictures or diagrams, charts, tables etc.

They may have been around for 30 years, invented in 1994, but I would doubt they were in common usage . How many people had camera phones anyway?
Downloading and printing may be old technology but my box file of instruction has saved many a crisis.

I recently read that some big name shops are going to do away with barcodes and use QR codes only, as you get more information, price etc

Quite a few Restaurants are going down that route with the menu's as well, had to download quite a few times in the last couple of years.
Think covid pushed it forward.

kittylester. Is there a particular reason why your brother and his wife have never got to grips with technology? Is it physical disability, a lack of local training opportunities, an unwillingness to learn or some other reason?

Digital technology in some shape or form has been in the workplace for around four decades or more. Personal computers, laptops, tablets, mobile phones, smart phones have been around for decade(s) too. The first smart phones were introduced long ago. Arguably, the best known smart camera phone, the iPhone, was introduced in 2007, 16 years ago.

There are and have been a wealth of training resources available for older people to learn and improve their confidence with technology. There are now Digital Inclusion Hubs across the country:

www.ageuk.org.uk/services/in-your-area/it-training/

I do understand the problem and I do understand that some people can seem stubbornly resistant to change but when you dig a bit deeper, it's often fear and lack of confidence that's driving the resistance. People don’t always want to admit that.

As well as teaching ICT in schools, I’ve tutored adult LEA Computers for the Terrified courses, tailored Learn Direct courses and tutored ECDL (now ICDL). I’ve also helped people individually. I have yet to come across anyone who doesn't get the hang of things after a few lessons.

Manufacturers have been using QR codes in the work place since the 1990s, particularly in the car industry for stock control. More recently, technology users will be familar with QR codes in everyday life for postal services, bus timetables, restaurants and many other services. In 2021, they were common as a means to obtain entry into certain buildings and events when evidence of Covid vaccination was being requested.

A QR code is a quick response code, a two dimentional version of a bar code, a reaable pattern of squares rather than a line of thin and thick stripes.

Manufacturers now supply global markets. Any set of printed instructions has to come in multiple languages which makes for thick paper manuals, most of the pages superfluous to the vast majorty of people. I suspect most manuals are consulted the first couple of times that a new appliance in used and then sit in a cupboard or drawer long after the applicance has been replaced. It's a huge waste of paper and other resources at a time of green initiatives and escalating costs hence the move to digital instructions.

While I understand that advances in technology are marginalising some older people, I think we need to find out why some people are still not engaging with it after so many years.

It has always been the family motto that when all else fails, read the instructions! I have consciously tried to keep abreast of evolving technology but am currently struggling with printing off Trainline e-tickets. Oh for a helpful 12 year old!

A friend with learning disabilities avoids all technology like the plague. She's been on several college courses, had things explained (many times over) but just can't apply logic or look up answers.

One example, she ordered something online for collection, yet only got as far as putting it in her basket. I do worry, as she uses cash, banks, shops, the post office etc. - all of which are fast disappearing.

She tries to sort things out on the phone, but gets in ever more complicated pickles - as she's easily side tracked and can't keep to the point or explain what she needs.

Google said appliance and ask for directions on how to use it!

My DH always likes to buy something with several bells and whistles, but then never reads the instructions and has no idea how to get the appliance to perform all its tricks. I'm the one who does it all. For example. I don't watch TV but he does. When I call him for dinner, I'm pretty sure he just switches it off, regardless of how interested he is in the programme. He has never bothered to learn how to get it to continue recording while he's away so he can watch the rest of the programme later*. Nor does he have any idea how to watch a DVD.

*I remember the salesman telling us we would use this feature a lot. Little did he know!

Yesterday, having ploughed through a ream of unhelpful and barely comprehensible instructions about my microwave, I was on the verge of calling for help - ie DS1 - when I twiddled a knob and found out what I had been doing wrong. Now I know why two plastic lids had melted. But DS1 did arrive later and sorted out the timing of my radiators.