Colton Ironwood did not want to scan the QR code. He wanted a menu. A laminated, slightly-sticky piece of cardboard that he could hold in his hands.

Instead, he was staring at a black-and-white pixelated square at the corner of his table.

“Just point your phone camera at it, Grandpa,” his 10-year-old grandson, Leo, said. Leo was staying with him for the summer, primarily for the fishing.

Colton grunted, pulling out his smartphone — a device he mostly used as an expensive paperweight.

He hovered the camera over the square. Nothing happened. He moved it closer. Still nothing. He tapped the screen aggressively.

“You tapped the screen too hard; you closed the camera,” Leo sighed, grabbing the phone.

Thirty seconds later, Colton was staring at a digital menu. But to actually order his soup, he had to download an app called “BiteSize: The Ultimate Culinary Ecosystem.” His blood pressure........

© Peterborough Examiner