The trolleys in some supermarkets can only be used by scanning the code. Some APPs in real estate transactions must be studied with 17-page Word documents
Intelligent era: Just move your fingers, how can you not move your fingers?
Our reporter Zhao Chen, Workers Daily (Edition 04, September 03, 2020)
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Digital and mobile services bring convenience to people's lives, but they also bring troubles.
As more and more basic and daily services in life are "installed" into mobile phones, "you can't go out without a mobile phone, and you can't do things without an APP" has become the norm in the smart era.
Scan QR code to order food, pay in the cloud, order a car online, and buy food online. In the era of mobile Internet, as long as you have a mobile phone or a tablet, you can enjoy a variety of life services "with your fingers".
However, various digital and mobile services bring convenience and new problems.
As more and more basic and daily services in life are "installed" into mobile phones, "you can't go out without a mobile phone, and you can't do things without an APP" has become the norm in the smart era.
Some consumers bluntly said, "The convenience that you can enjoy with your fingers has gradually become a burden that you can't do without your fingers."
"A lot of things can't be done without APP installed"
"A lot of things have to be handled online, but I don't know how to use the application software in my mobile phone, so I have to find someone to help." Uncle Li, who is over 60, lives in Xicheng District, Beijing.
Because the internal retirement was handled many years ago, Uncle Li did not have many social contacts.
When I needed to take a taxi home, Uncle Li stood on the side of the road to solicit vehicles, but other passengers had booked in advance through the mobile app.
Uncle Li, who had no taxi-hailing software installed in his mobile phone and could not operate online, waited for nearly an hour, and finally had to call his family for help.
Traveling is not the only thing that troubles Uncle Li.
"I went to the supermarket and found that to use the trolley, you have to download the APP first, and then you can use it after scanning the code." Uncle Li felt very puzzled. It was obviously a matter of picking it up, so why did he have to rely on his mobile phone.
Although the supermarket said there was a manual solution, it was not marked in a prominent position, and there was no special person on the spot to explain and guide.
The reporter saw in front of the supermarket trolleys that not only many elderly people gave up using trolleys, but many young people also complained that scanning codes and using cars is troublesome. "As long as you enter the store, there are endless QR codes."
"Although it claims that it is not mandatory to download APP, the logic of product design is'soft compulsory' and artificial barriers are set up." Ms. Zhang, a citizen of Beijing, told reporters that now it is possible to apply for certificates from employers, to pay for water and electricity, and to buy food. It is done on the mobile phone, which really facilitates life.
But now, some companies and units have forcibly bundled the original regular and basic services with the APP, and they cannot do anything without downloading them.
The reporter's interview found that some elderly people not only have to overcome the barriers to APP use, but also worry about the safety of personal information and funds from time to time. They have to carefully consider each time they click on the phone screen, fearing that the operation will be risky.
Uncle Li said with emotion: "After all, we are getting older, and the ability to accept new things has declined. If more and more things have to be done by downloading the APP, it will be one after another."
"In order to trade real estate, I downloaded 7 apps"
In the past month, Ms. Li, who is selling her own real estate, has registered 7 apps for real estate transaction downloads.
"In addition to the one payment app that was previously placed in advance, there are now another payment app, one government app, two housing apps, and three bank apps involving wages, provident funds, and loan issuance. Registered At that time, this APP requires the password to start with a number, and the other requires special characters..."
Ms. Li said that on the day of signing the contract, I only talked with the buyer for half an hour, but it took more than an hour to download and register the app.
What impressed Ms. Li most was an app that was only used once or twice in the house sales process. Before using it, you must learn a 17-page Word document with pictures and texts and complete face recognition verification before you can log in.
When Ms. Li brushed her face, after five or six face recognition failures, she put on contact lenses before successfully logging in to the APP and completing the relevant procedures.
Scenes that require multiple apps to "toss" together also appear on campus.
An APP for laundry, an APP for fetching water, an APP for even WIFI, and an APP for checking results... Recently, Zhang Xinyue, a college student from a university in Beijing, told reporters: “You need to download multiple apps to enter the campus. The memory of ordinary mobile phones is not enough. use."
According to data released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, as of the end of July 2020, the number of apps monitored on the domestic market in my country was 3.57 million.
Aurora’s "Q1 Mobile Internet Industry Data Research Report for 2020" shows that in the first quarter of 2020, the total number of mobile Internet users installed per capita is 63 APPs.
Some insiders said that although the domestic application market has developed rapidly in recent years, this does not represent real demand for use.
On the one hand, the problem of homogeneity of APPs in a few fields is serious; on the other hand, a large number of APPs are not friendly in design, have single functions, and lack integration.
"It's about service, and it's all business in the end"
Ms. Chen, who works at a financial institution in Xicheng District, Beijing, said that although there are various scenarios where apps need to be downloaded, she will clean up apps that are not commonly used every once in a while.
"There are too many apps, and there are too many problems that can be solved offline. You have to be an app."
"The APPs we make must complete a certain amount of downloads. It may be that the company has designated tasks or reported certain output, and there is a need for performance evaluation." Meng Xin, a programmer engaged in Internet application development in Beijing, told reporters.
In addition, the most valuable data on the Internet is users and user information.
"Prompt users to download APP to get some permissions, such as purchase records, can analyze user behavior, make user portraits, and facilitate future operation and promotion."
On August 31, the list of the fourth batch of problematic applications released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology in 2020 showed that apps that have not completed rectification are generally in violation of the collection and use of personal information, compulsory request for permissions, and forced users to use targeted push functions, etc. problem.
The reporter combed and found that location information, camera microphone, address book and call history, etc. are all permissions frequently required by various apps.
Some apps may even request biometric information such as user facial features.
"It's about service, and it's all business in the end." Recently, Ms. Chen downloaded a check-in app in accordance with the company's requirements.
The APP page is full of "precise push" advertisements, and many social functions are set up to allow users to share their lives.
Ms. Chen said: "I understand the routines of increasing stickiness and inducing consumption. Personal information may be leaked, and I also know the risks. But there is no way. You cannot work and live normally without downloading the APP."