Why is using emoji such a crappy experience?

I have a confession (and maybe you share the same sentiment). I really hate inputting emojis.

I really, really like using emoji, but my god, do I loathe the process of inputting them into a message. I'm an iPhone user and it's the worst. (It's not any better on Android. Trust me, I checked.)

We all know emoji are pictorial representations of feelings and things. They're extremely useful for helping us either quickly communicate something instead of typing it out or express complex expressions that are easier understood with a 😂  or a 💃.

Everyone loves emoji. I mean, come on: Star Wars: The Force Awakens as told by emoji. Even Apple's use of emoji in a recent video to explain how iMessages are powered by green energy is brilliant.

I would have typed this entire rant in emoji if I could, but there aren't enough 😡  and 😩  and 😤  to make it clear what I'm pissed at.

You're probably wondering what I could be steaming over? What's there not to get? You hit the smiley face on your keyboard to bring up all the emojis and then scroll to the one you want, tap it, and you're done.

Via Giphy

And that's precisely what is so maddening. I have to scroll through several "pages" within a category to find the right emoji to use. Even after years of entering emoji, I still can't remember for the life of me where certain ones are.

Messaging apps should let you type in words and the emojis will automatically pop up for you to select.

Not only is it a pain in the ass to find the right emoji, but it wastes time, especially when there's a very simple fix. 

Instead of making you hunt for the right emoji, messaging apps should let you type in words and the emoji will automatically pop up for you to select. The popular messaging app Line has had this feature for years -- albeit it only works with the app's "stickers" and not the default emoji. But same idea.

This auto-text-to-emoji feature, so to speak, is a far more intuitive and faster way to send emojis. It's the very reason why Line has replaced iMessage in my dock. Convenience always wins. (Getting all my friends to use Line is another issue.)

In Line, if I type LOL, I get all kinds of sticker options, which I can then quickly select and send. But in even more popular apps like iMessage, Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp, I'm forced to browse and browse and browse. Ugh.

iMessage

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

Line

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

You can get around this easily with a third-party keyboard like Google's recently released Gboard keyboard for iPhone, but it's not native. And you also lose dictation when you install third-party keyboard apps. 

At least in Line you can still dictate text like "LOL" and the stickers options will still appear automatically.

To some people, it's a minor inconvenience and they're probably all ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ right now, but I hope Apple steps up and delivers auto-text-to-emoji in iOS 10. 

The faster I can spam my friends with 💩💩💩 and the most useless emoji the sooner I can get to more pressing matters. Like deciding who -- Chewbacca lady or teen who did epic water bottle flip -- is the 🐐 . (That's GOAT -- greatest of all time, in case you didn't know.)

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