Fenomena Pengguna Sistem Pembayaran Berbasis Kode QR sebagai Simbol Kelas Sosial pada Mahasiswa Ilmu Hukum Universitas Sumatera Utara

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the phenomenon of QR code-based payment system users as a symbol of social class in the interaction of students of the Faculty of Law, University of North Sumatra. This study was conducted using descriptive research with a qualitative approach. In determining informants using purposive sampling techniques. Using the concept of Harold Grafinkel's Ethnomethodology in research. The results of this study indicate differences in views in interpreting the use of QRIS in each informant, with the separation of social classes based on parental income, single tuition fees, and monthly QRIS usage fees. Students who are in the upper middle class interpret the use of QRIS as an indicator of social class in meeting their living needs, from food to luxury goods so that they tend to adapt more quickly to the access to knowledge they have in using QRIS. Meanwhile, students who are in the lower middle class still use cash and only adopt QRIS as an alternative payment in certain situations, thus showing slower adaptation to the limited access they have. QRIS also influences students' lifestyles so that it can strengthen social cohesion among students who are more connected and responsive to technological developments. In addition, the implications of the research can provide a view that without realizing it, the use of QRIS not only functions as a transaction tool, but also as a symbol of modernity and progress that differentiates social classes in the academic environment.