Restaurants and their customers are happily saying goodbye to QR code menus
It seemed like they'd be around forever.

A delicious-looking Mexican meal with a QR code menu
There’s a concept known as “app creep,” where every aspect of our lives is slowly becoming tethered to our smartphones in one way or another. If you spend a day at Disneyland, you must download an app to reserve your spot in line for certain attractions. Many kids’ toys now require an app to operate them or for you to download one to get the instructions. And good luck getting into a concert without transferring your tickets from your Ticketmaster app to your iPhone wallet.
Before the pandemic, we could all go to restaurants to relax and have face-to-face conversations without any help from technology. But after COVID-19 arrived, many restaurants replaced menus with a QR code on a sticker in the middle of the table.
Time previously spent poring over a menu was replaced with people staring at their phones, sometimes squinting at the text. What about a second cocktail? How about dessert? Time to fish the iPhone out of your purse or pocket to see what’s available and hope the site loads.
Even though the QR code menu didn’t ruin the entire dining experience, it’s still been seen as an infringement on the normally tech-free space by the vast majority of people.
According to CNN, a recent survey by Technomic found that about 88% of respondents preferred paper menus to digital QR codes, and 66% agreed or strongly agreed that they didn’t like QR codes because they involve pulling out your phone as soon as you sit at the table.
Fifty-five percent of those surveyed felt that QR codes were “hard to read” and browse through.
So it appears that, in a rare reversal of app creep, people are pushing back on digital intrusion and demanding to see an old-school menu at their tables. A new report by MustHaveMenus, a menu management and printing platform with about 7,000 customers across the United States, shows that restaurant QR code use is declining.
According to a report in The New York Times, “From April 1 to May 16 of this year, the total number of [QR] scans has dropped by about 27 percent compared with the same period in 2021.” Mark Plumlee, the senior content manager at MustHaveMenus, added that “Fewer restaurants are creating new QR menus” and that “75 percent of their existing QR codes are essentially dormant.”
The news that QR codes are on the way out inspired a fun conversation on Twitter.
Paper menus are better, however I reserve the most respect for the true old school establishments that still have their entire menu scrawled onto a chalk board hanging in the corner
— Chuck Brotton (@CMB1969) May 23, 2023
I saw a storefront with a QR code "store hours". Like... just post the store hours...
— Student Loan Memes (@EricSFong) May 23, 2023
I want a menu. I'm not going to make sure my phone is charged so I can properly order tacos.
— Debra Cole (@booklearninDeb) May 23, 2023
Yes, it’s annoying, pretentious, and I demand an actual menu so I can pretend I know how to read
— JackSmith (@jackmarlui1918) May 23, 2023
Agreed. I’m at a restaurant to NOT use my dumb phone for a while.
— Suzie McQ (@McQzan) May 23, 2023
The world was drastically turned upside down during COVID-19, and now we are all working out ways to get it back to a new normal. The upside is that some significant advancements came out of the pandemic that people like for the most part and have made the world a better place, such as curbside pickup, cocktails-to-go, mRNA vaccines, telehealth, working from home, direct cash payments, free school meals, eating on sidewalks and streets, voting by mail and wearing a mask when you should be considerate of others’ health.
The world has spoken, and although some COVID-19 changes are here to stay, it’s time to make the QR code menu a thing of the past. Oh yeah, and while we’re at it, can we scrape the “6 Feet Distance” stickers off the supermarket floor already? They’re starting to look a little worn.
There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."