One central theme of understanding which I've observed is the growth of image as a universal means of communication in an interconnected world. Language requires rules and consensus about the shape or form of rules. In order to communicate using language, human beings agree about the shape of the symbols which make up the textual form of a language, as well as to the sounds which when placed in a particular order convey meaning. The symbolic form of the language is exclusively learned, as anyone with a useless Arts degree can attest. The rules that make up the heart of a language are of course, exclusive, and discriminate by their very exclusivity.
Image is universal.
Image, therefore, imparts a common understanding to disparate understandings. It is a universal medium in an age of global interconnectivity and cross-cultural exchange. Thus, image is at the heart of the idea of Electronic Consciousness, which is a broad historical signifier that attempts to explain the radical growth of worldwide means of communication, piggy-backed on attempts to trade, fight and generally interact on a global, rather than local, basis. It is simplistic to say that communication has caused globalization, or that global communication is a reaction to global political and economic interconnectedness. In the same way it is simplistic to say text is losing ground to image, or text is having a renaissance at the expense of image.