Very often we need to speak generically about clicking or tapping an item, but there seems to be a lack of vocabulary in English for this. We could just say "click or tap" every time, but that is just clumsy.
Select is often used as a generic term, but it also has a different meaning (as in select text with the cursor) so could cause some confusion.
So what word can be used to refer to "clicking or tapping" an item?
Background:
I regularly work on web apps that run on a browser, so they are used on mobile (touch based) and pc's. I've used the term 'click' in the past as a generic term, but on user testing it has shown to cause some confusion for users. Select has been the clearest, but I am loathe to use that term as it has another meaning.
Some references:
Answer
If you feel like jumping the action (click/tap) you can directly say "Select" the ...
Rather than a generic word, I would suggest you try to check what device the person is using and then say "click/tap" appropriate for the platform. But, then come the devices with both, a peripheral device and touch capability, which make this situation awkward-ish. You can still go with 'tap' since they are primarily touch (?) for interaction.
Also, I think you can use 'click' universally, since if you keep the sounds on, most platforms play a 'click' sound when you tap/click on any icon.
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