Much of the modern world has become a place where geographical boundaries are crossed on a regular basis by those using electronic devices. Phones, tablets, and computers have all taken over many societies. It would seem there are almost no boundaries left, but language and travel still keep people from interacting in person. This is not as big a problem as it used to be, and much of the progress of humans across vast distances being able to understand each other can be attributed to electronics. Icons and communication have become intertwined in a way few might have imagined even a few decades ago, and it has made many barriers fall without a fight.
Phones used to be devices that sat on walls, tables, or desks, and they were a means of communication that was actually quite simple. While the thought of speaking with another person over a long distance might have been revolutionary at some point, the availability of cell phones changed the way people thought. Those early cell phones were simple compared to the smart phones of today, and that is where icons and communications have become a new world for people across the globe.
Smart phones are heavily dependent upon icons, and these are used in a variety of ways. While they were originally nothing more than a telephone that needed no geographical base, their basic functions have expanded to include text messaging, photographic equipment, video recording, and they even have calendars and online access. All of these are represented on the face of these amazing gadgets in the form of icons, and even those from small children to their grandparents have learned to recognize what tapping an icon can do for them.
Language is about communicating through words, and the majority of cultures still have their own languages. For those who have purchased and used a smart phone on a regular basis, they can now communicate with others through the understanding and use of icons that have been normalized across the globe. It may eventually lead to an international language of icons everyone must learn, but that is still in the future.
