Images are used to communicate information to us much more often than any other form of information and the reasons for that are well-established. We process visual information in a much more effortless manner than we process verbal information. In addition to that, the easier the process is, the more enjoyable it becomes. So receiving information visually is faster, more effortless, but also more pleasant. In our everyday life we are surrounded by an extremely rich and vibrant visual environment. Instead of reading or hearing about an idea in words, we most often see it in images. Take advertising for example, how many messages do we get every day in images vs. in words? Advertisers have figured out how to best reach us and whether we realize it or not we receive millions of messages through pictures every day. There is also another very important aspect of visual information – we learn much easier and faster through images, and we also remember information learned that way for a longer time.
Communicating information through images is effective for receiving and processing the communicated information with ease, speed and facilitated learning. But how does this process affect how we communicate back? In other words, does the fact that most of the information we receive is visual, affect how we communicate information back to the world? Does the overwhelmingly rich visual environment we live in affect our ability and desire to communicate? If most information is presented to us visually, that means we have to read less. So what does reading less do to our ability to communicate?
We know that in their everyday activities, humans communicate verbally. Although we also use body language and face expressions, words are still our most important communication tool. We need the verbal way of communication to make sure that we are not misinterpreted. But in order to communicate effectively we need a rich vocabulary of words that we can use to express our thoughts. And how do we accumulate a rich vocabulary over time – through extensive reading. In order to be able to communicate verbally, we need to read. We can facilitate learning of words by accompanying pictures but the pictures alone will not lead to learning how to speak well. Thus, reading brings important benefits for the development of our communication skills but it also presents challenges. One challenge stems from the fact that reading takes much more time and effort than looking at visuals, for example. Contrary to visual processing, verbal processing (i.e., reading) is more effortful and slower. Thus, it is not surprising that we would prefer to receive information visually rather than verbally. But the question is can we also communicate effectively through images like we do through words? Are we able to express our thoughts through images and be understood the same way? Take Pinterest, for example – the extremely popular network that allows you to share images, videos and other material. The fact that most of the material that is shared is visual indicates that people might also enjoy this way of communication the most. But importantly, why are we seeing such popularity of this type of communication now? Are people slowly shifting from mostly communicating verbally to communicating visually? Is there a change in the way we are starting to communicate?
