(This QR code is an embedded link to the homepage of this blog)

          Johnathan Sterne states that by nature, new media technologies are formed through a heterogeneous path, yet exist within a set course in which their demise is often predetermined before their conception. This theory elicits a dichotomy in which new media may be both condemned and praised by the same users in equal measure, for their purpose is to make improvements on preexisting media, while simultaneously leaving room for future improvements (Sterne, 22). This essay will examine the recent development of the QR (Quick Response) code in this light, tracing its development from a simple tracking feature to an integral aspect of marketing, consumer behaviour, and information-sharing. This path is crucial to the code's current status, as it must be noted that it was not created for the role it now fills.  As well, this essay will examine the success of the codes, including their role in new media, through their saturation of multiple facets of modern society, and their appeal based on blurring the lines between consumer and technological interaction. Ultimately, this essay will use these features of the QR code in conjunction with the code's often negative repercussions to examine the future of the code in new media. Collection of user information to diffuse privacy barriers and the simplicity of various forms of hacking and misconduct, when combined with the increasing use of the codes worldwide, creates an situation which will eventually demand either improvement or replacement of the QR code. Through examination of new media theories, this study will illuminate the ways in which the lifespan of the QR code is typical of new media, including its eventual demise due to both its security concerns, and its nature as a new media artifact.

          By following the trajectory of the QR code's rise to prominence, its role as a new media artifact can be explicitly delineated. Created in 1994 by Toyota subsidiary Denso Wave to track vehicles on the assembly line, the code is a specific two dimensional matrix barcode capable of holding information such as a URL, that can be scanned by a simple software on any smartphone (Denso Wave). Although their beginnings are in production and manufacturing, QR codes have quickly spread to use in a much broader context, most notably in social media, consumerism, and marketing. The image of the QR code can be scanned to display text, contact information, connect to a wireless network, make a purchase, or open a web page in the smartphone's browser. The use of QR codes in a broad range of advertisements, from corporations such as Starbucks to social activism such as Peta has been revolutionary, allowing consumers to interact with the ad itself through links to videos, art, information, or discounts.

(History and development of the QR code)

          The historical rise to what is now considered ‘new media’ follows an unlikely path of converging technical inventions. In How Media Became New, Lev Manovitch demonstrates the ways in which streams of development are fostered for their independent purposes, while simultaneously sharing and contributing ideas to ultimately create a multifaceted new system. This system, classified as “new media”, is the result of “graphics, moving images, sounds, shapes, spaces and text becom[ing] computable” (Manovitch, 48). As citizens of an increasingly media-saturated society, examples of this intricate medley of information, technology, and art are prevalent in virtually every aspect of modern life. The QR code is a prime example of this definition, able to integrate any information, audio, or visual content which could be displayed on a website into a simple two dimensional box. With its ability to transform any media into an interactive experience with the consumer, QR codes are the ultimate convergence of “two separate historical trajectories . . . media and computer” (Manovich, 48). Here, diverging technical innovations converge to solidify the QR code as a new media artifact, integrating technology, manufacturing, marketing, and art to revolutionize each of these fields.

          The growth of the QR code has been extreme, largely due to its diverse nature, with their presence in magazines alone rising 476% from January 2011 to September 2011 (PRWeb). Their interactive and participatory nature, typical of new media, allows consumers to interact with their environment, aided by their proliferation throughout a diverse collection of media. As well, because they can be linked to virtually anything, the consumer is attracted by the mystery of what the QR code could lead to; examples of this include discounts, promotional videos, and more information about a product (Denso Wave). This feature is a pertinent illustration of one of the key elements of new media: variability (Manovich, 56). QR codes are capable of representing up to 7,089 characters, which in turn can represent any amount of information by simply linking to a URL (Denso Wave). The myriad of possibilities of QR codes not only secures their place as a new media artifact, but also allows for endless options for their use, subsequently generating a large appeal to consumers and advertisers alike. Finally, perhaps the biggest factor in their rapid growth has been their access to a large percentage of the population. With smartphone users accounting for 38% of all mobile phones (Reece), the number of those with access to QR codes is growing as well.


          As a new media artifact, the QR code is an example of the increasing extension of human agency, however it also goes one step further. The codes work to blur the lines between human and machine by changing the way people interact with the world around them. New media “objects are constructed through their relations to other objects” (Hayles, 91) and the QR code is no exception, having been designed in its relation to humans as a tool to help facilitate first manufacturing, and later interaction. When the consumer engages with a QR code in a print advertisement, on a street post, or on a food item, they enter into a discourse with the object, participating in their own experience with it. Although a cyborg does not ensue in the literal sense as the consumer does not become one with the object, this interaction does reflect a cybernetic system. In this system, the QR code works in somewhat the same way as a person with a cane, which are “joined in a single system, for [the cane] funnels to the man essential information about his environment” (Hayles, 84). The difference lies in the ability of a cybernetic system to move from “modifications intended to compensate for deficiencies to interventions designed to enhance normal functioning” (Hayles, 84). The QR code works in this way, allowing the consumer to interact and engage with media in a way they could not on their own. This type of interaction with the surrounding environment creates a consumer who is not only human, but also an interactive part of the technological world in which they live.

(Examples of the QR code's societal saturation: a billboard, gravestone, and New York City building permit)

          The success of the QR code relies not only on its popularity with consumers, but also on the information it permits advertisers to gather about them. The company generating the code is not only aware of the number of scans, but they are also able to discern their location, allowing the advertiser to know which marketing strategies are working, where, and to what degree (Sokol). This type of monitoring is described by Mark Andrejevic as an increasing exploitation of consumer privacy, in situations where most do not even know they are being monitored (Andrejevic, 231). Take for example Best Buy, who unveiled a new campaign where consumers are able to scan either a “thumbs up” or “thumbs down” barcode to give feedback to the company (Sokol). Although the monitoring of consumer behaviour in this case is a conscious choice, the information gathered about their exact location, which will be used to create more effective products and advertising, is not freely given by the consumer. Although the recent development of QR codes have prevented this from becoming a societal security concern as of yet, the potential for this technology to be manipulated and misused is great. The ethical questions raised from this form of information gathering are important not only in consumer-producer relationships, but also in terms of increasing hacker presence.


           Although privacy has become the predominant issue most concerning to Americans regarding the 21st century ahead of overpopulation, racial tensions, and global warming (Andrejevic 238), consumers nevertheless use media which sacrifices privacy for the “power gains of bureaucracies . . . at the expense of individuals” (Lenk qtd in Andrejevic, 232). Marshall McLuhan discerns the motivations behind these decisions, warning that “it is only too typical that the 'content' of any medium blinds us to the character of the medium” (McLuhan, 9). Consumers remain focused on the aforementioned merits of the QR code and the information and conveniences it provides. These qualities distract them from the invasion of their privacy, providing advertisers with the personal information they need to exploit consumers in the future. Ultimately, the consumer exists in a vacuum between what they know to be true and what they choose to acknowledge, in the process leaving themselves vulnerable to exploitation.

(One example of the Best Buy QR code campaign)

           The exploitation of the consumer also extends beyond personal privacy to issues outside of the consumer-producer relationship. An innocent customer can be easily tricked into scanning a malicious QR code, and dangerous QR codes combined with a permissive reader can put a computer's contents and user's privacy at high risk. For hackers who search for the ultimate accessible target, QR codes make the perfect outlet. These codes intentionally obscure and compress their contents and intent to humans, appearing uniform to an unsuspecting eye. As well, they are easily created, which can lead to false QR codes being affixed over preexisting legitimate codes. The malicious use of the QR code can be examined in terms of the two perceptions of hackers outlined by Coleman and Golub. First are those who are not engaged in malicious behaviour, but are visionaries who practice “inquisitive tinkering” (Coleman and Golub, 256). For these hackers, the opportunities of QR codes lie in the content of the code itself, as the options for what they may be linked to are virtually endless. Here, key hacker ethics such as free speech and creativity (Coleman and Golub, 267) have free reign. By redirecting a user to a different, harmless page of their own choosing, it can be argued that they are simply exercising these ethical beliefs.

           However the alternate perception given by Coleman and Golub is that hackers are sinister and manipulative, with the intentions of prying information or financial gains from the innocent victim (Coleman and Golub, 256). QR codes could appeal to this brand of hacker in two distinct ways; first by altering the destination, and second by accessing their information. In the first case, the hacker could create a code which leads to harmful malware, which would infect the user's phone or device. In the second case, the code could be used to access the user's information through their personal device. This form of hacking is often the most feared as a violation of privacy (Boyd, 505).

          In order to fully illustrate this second theory of hackers, the global grocery retailer Tesco can be used as an example. In an attempt to become the number one retailer in South Korea, the company created a revolutionary campaign when they opened their first virtual grocery store. Devising a way for the store to come to the consumer as opposed to the opposite, Tesco plastered the walls of busy subway and train stations with posters that resemble the aisles and shelves of a supermarket, lined from top to bottom with the same products featured in their stores. Each product image is accompanied by a QR code which the shopper scans to add that item to a virtual shopping list. When the customer has scanned the codes for all the groceries needed, they pay using online banking on their phone, and the groceries are then delivered to their home (Hobson).

(The Tesco virtual grocery store)

           Exploiting this example, the second form of malicious hacking could effectively target the user, who is already prepared to make a purchase. By creating a false QR code which leads to a mimic of the Tesco website on one of the products, a hacker could redirect a purchase, or gain access to the user's financial information. As well, this could be used to gain access to a users location, behaviours, and movements through their mobile device. Although the norm in modern society is “private-by-default, public-through-effort” (Boyd, 507), the uniform nature of QR codes are helping malicious individuals to reverse it. It is the inability to foresee and prevent these attacks from occurring which causes them to be the most dangerous. As well, when the QR code is a crucial aspect of a company's profits, hackers can not only affect the consumer but the producer of the code as well. Tesco is paying a premium for the advertising space which houses their virtual store, and by covering up a QR code which could lead the consumer to a purchase, the hackers are denying Tesco of making a profit from this item.

(Examples of the QR code's societal saturation: a magazine ad and real estate sign)

           The negative issues associated with the QR code, such as personal privacy and hacker appeal, raise questions as to the ultimate repercussions and future expansion of the QR code. Although these complications are currently relatively small, this can be attributed to the code's ballooning popularity, and their nature as a “new” development. With their rapid growth in a comparatively short period of time, these obstacles facing the QR code will soon be at the forefront of consumer consciousness. It can be foreseen that the future of the QR code will be brought under intense scrutiny; whether they are able to find viable solutions to these major issues will be a crucial determining factor in its ultimate success. 

           Another major determining factor in the success of the QR code is the eventual introduction of newer technologies. Johnathan Sterne suggests that new media technologies are defined by their own future decomposition (Sterne, 17), insinuating that this is the ultimate fate of all new media technologies. With this theory, he believes that rather than being new in relation to preexisting media forms, “new media” is simply new in contrast to a previous model of the same media. This can be applied to the QR code, as it is a new media artifact in the sense that it has enhanced television, print and photography in interactive advertising, but can also be considered new by displacing its own counterparts with newer models, such as the transition from UPC barcodes to QR codes when identifying items in stores or facilitating the purchase of a product (Sterne, 19-20). This illuminates the nature of technological development to create a product with an expiry date and to acknowledge and expect that a newer product will soon replace the current model, all in the name of progress (Sterne, 22). This theory suggests that the security issues associated with the QR code may not be rectified, but that the code will instead be replaced by a newer technology that works similarly but better, the way that QR codes improved the previous barcode system while simultaneously revolutionizing many other sectors. This eventual replacement is such an accepted aspect of new media that although QR codes are still extremely new, many are already predicting their demise and speculating as to their eventual replacement (Frommer).

           Furthermore, the most important aspect in considering the demise or replacement of the QR code is the knowledge that they were not created for the role they are currently serving. As previously stated, the QR code was created to track vehicle parts on the assembly line, not to be a link to interactive marketing or consumerism. In their original function, privacy issues and the threat of hackers were extraneous issues. Now that QR codes are fully embedded in the public sphere however, the dangers associated with their use become increasingly relevant. Because of their unforeseen expansion, the codes exist within the realm of “halfway technologies . . . [which] sort of work, but not in a flawless or entirely predictable fashion” (Sterne, 23). Because of this, there is no doubt that a replacement will be required to correct the privacy and security issues outlined in this essay.

           Ultimately, this essay has demonstrated that the QR code fulfills its role as a new media artifact in every sense of the term. The QR code represents a multifaceted new system which is the result of visual, auditory, and information streams becoming computable. It further pushes the boundaries of new media technology by allowing the consumer to interact with the source of the code (advertisement, purchase, social media, etc.), thereby becoming an active participant with the usually stagnant media which surrounds them. As with any technology however, the QR code does have its drawbacks; issues concerning personal privacy as well as hacking and misconduct are copious, and will eventually lead to a turning point, where the codes must either be enhanced or exchanged. Nevertheless, if Johnathan Sterne's theories of what constitutes the “new” in new media are accepted, then the QR code's demise is an integral part of its nature. In order to pave the way for future developments, each new technology is created to solve a problem, or revolutionize a field, but is also expected to be eventually replaced. This definition applies directly to the QR code when the aforementioned security issues affect user trust, and a new technology must be found to replace it. Together with its multifaceted nature, working both within various facets of the society and integrating various streams of development, the QR code can be viewed as the quintessential new media artifact.

Works Cited

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