Have you ever felt vulnerable entering a casual restaurant for a meal? Or felt reluctant to enter a grocery store? What about going to the movies with your friends on the weekends? Such regular encounters have turned out to be somewhat foreign for the elderly since the COVID-19 pandemic. Feelings of hesitation and isolation penetrated the lives of seniors due to social distancing policies that involved digital technologies issued to cope with the virus.

The emergence of COVID-19 led the South Korean government to implement several social distancing policies. Those included quarantine, compulsory mask wearing, tracing of the infected, and more. Of those policies, the restrictive entrance system–which allowed only those with proof of vaccination in the form of QR codes or those with PCR negative results within 48-hours to enter MultiUse facilities–especially impacted citizens. Without the QR codes, they were unable to enter malls, restaurants and other day-to-day facilities. Furthermore, online services, such as vaccine reservations, and emergency relief fund registrations for the infected and for small enterprises, prevailed in the country. The internet was again the source for vital information about the virus. The availability to such digital sources determined whether a person was going to be safe or not, aided or not and foremost included or not.

In the phase of such radical changes, the elderly quickly became one of the most insecure groups in Korea. According to an annual survey conducted by the Ministry of Science and ICT in 2021, seniors scored the lowest in accessing and utilizing digital devices among the four vulnerable groups of digital accessibility, which include the disabled, the poor, farmers and fishermen, and the elderly. Jun Woo-chun, a professor of Computer Education at Seoul National University of Education, called this phenomenon “the digital divide of older citizens” in his study. This gap leads to the social marginalization of seniors, eventually trapping them in the vicious cycle of isolation.

Seniors frequently reported difficulties in using the QR codes to enter day-to-day facilities. A 64-year-old citizen surnamed Jeong, described the indignity he felt at a restaurant. “I went to a restaurant a few days ago and was required to show a QR code. I had no idea what to do and felt like I was causing a disturbance so I just got out of the place.”

The government acknowledged the exclusion that older citizens were experiencing and came up with several mechanisms to confront it. For example, the restrictive entrance system allowed alternative forms of QR codes, such as printed certificates and vaccination stickers, with which seniors feel more comfortable. However, most of the seniors didn’t realize the need for the quarantine pass until they encountered younger generations using QR codes. Some of those who even had their vaccination stickers attached to their ID cards weren’t welcomed by the storeowners. Park Seung-min, an activist in the Dongja-dong jjokbang village who assists seniors, noted, “I went to a restaurant in Jung-gu with an elderly group, but couldn’t go in. Although they showed their vaccination stickers, the restaurant owner didn’t acknowledge them as valid quarantine passes.” Such misunderstandings inevitably bring the problem back to its starting point.

Stores in Jongno-gu, where seniors account for a large portion of its consumers, confronted hardships despite policies embracing the elderly. Storeowners faced many old consumers who struggled with the quarantine pass, and eventually couldn’t help but to allow those without the pass into their shops, thereby violating the law. Their sympathy for the elderly was not the only reason they couldn’t abide by the law. They themselves did not know how to install the QR code machine or they were desperate for profit, unavoidably permitting customers without valid certificates. These incidents imply that the quarantine pass system has shortcomings in various aspects. Misunderstanding between different generations, economic fallbacks caused by the pandemic and digital illiteracy among aged shop owners all contribute to the problem. A simple “paperback” version of QR code is not working.

Korea was not the only country facing problems with QR codes. Since the test-trace-isolate (TTI) strategy for Covid-19 containment was ubiquitous around the world, tracing exposure by the use of QR codes was also found worldwide. Among many countries that had implemented QR codes for tracing, including the US, France, Malaysia, New Zealand and more, China had one of the most strict and complicated surveillance systems. Unlike other countries, China used two types of QR codes for tracing: the Venue code and the Travel code. The former was used for entering a wide range of facilities such as malls, airports, restaurants and even public restrooms. It would display one’s identity, health information and their latest PCR test results. The latter, also called the itinerary code, was required for Chinese citizens to enter each province during their domestic travels. Each province of China had different versions of those codes which coiled up the complexity. Such new interrogations have shown to be effective for the “Zero-Covid” objective, but served as a burden for the seniors who did not own digital devices or struggled with using them.

Public and private sectors in China recognized their predicaments and attempted QR code simplification and digital education. Instead of obligating several codes, the country is planning to link the travel card with the citizen’s ID card and health status, allowing citizens to just tag their travel card when entering any venue. Meanwhile, University students opened free digital usage classes for local seniors. However, Zheng Lei, a professor at Shanghai’s Fudan University and director of its Lab for Digital and Mobile Governance, addressed his concerns about these classes to Chinese online publication Sixth Tones. “The elderly should be able to choose not to learn about cell phones, instead of being threatened with exclusion if they don’t learn,” Zheng told the Chinese online magazine. His worries shed a new light on how we should deal with the digital divide among older citizens.

Digital education and printed quarantine passes are not go-to simple solutions for this generational gap. The term “digital divide” assumes that those who lack digital literacy must follow those who are familiar with automation to close the gap. However, closing the divide requires understanding and participation from both sides. For the elderly, digital education may not be available because of physical impairments or absence of a desire to learn. On the other hand, youngsters may not acknowledge what kind of hardships seniors are facing and may not realize analog alternatives such as the paper back certificates. A survey conducted by Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT, analyzing the seniors’ experience on digital services adds weight to the aforementioned problem. Compared to the overall citizens, seniors reported lack of participation in using online services. Only 48.3% of the elderly participated in registering services (vaccine administration and government subsidies application) while 73.6% of the entire population used them. The most frequently answered reasons for not using such services were that they couldn’t understand the need for them, and that they didn’t know how to approach the technology. This result suggests that the insufficiency in automated experiences among seniors stem not only from digital illiteracy but also from the lack of want and need. Therefore, assuming that the elderly should have an opportunity to learn digital skills just because they face difficulties may be a one-sided idea. Since some seniors may not want to, need to, or simply cannot pursue the trend, digital literacy classes should be open for all who struggle with automation, but voluntary participation should be guaranteed.

Meanwhile, people who meet these seniors should respect and understand the hardships seniors face in the era of radical digital changes. Even though the elderly are qualified with a paper quarantine pass, if those who give them admission do not “know” of its validity, what use is the analog option? This implies that it should not be just the elders who receive learning. Rather, youngsters should be aware of what the older generation are choosing as an alternative.

Such improvements are hopefully appearing in Korea. For instance, in 2022, the Seoul Digital Foundation decided to expand its use of the “Elderly-friendly Digital Accessibility Standard,” a nationwide criteria for a more convenient usage of applications. It requires apps to have bigger fonts, to place the search boxes in the center of the screen, and to add frequently used functions in the main screen’s bottom edge. This would make it easier for the elderly to use apps that show vaccine availability or banking apps that help them receive emergency relief funds.

“The New Normal is Digital” is a contemporary and undeniable statement. But is it still valid for some of us who would like, want, or have no choice but to head back to the old Normal? When the youngsters of the 21st century become the “senior” generation, systems that seem undeniably natural to the future generations may look bizarre to them. The same goes for the current older citizens. Digital was not the trend for them, so the difficulties they face when using such services are inevitable. Younger generations should not impose the use of automation on seniors just because the current change heads towards the digital. Neither generation is to blame in this divide. Different backgrounds formed divergent competences and acceptability to digital services. And furthermore, even in the same generation, variations appear on the attitude towards automation. The mutual understanding of different generations is essential for an inclusive society. This phenomenon, unveiled by the QR codes of the COVID-19 pandemic, teaches our generation to contemplate on which approach would be valid for every member of society.