The first thing we need is an 'I'm trying to study, don't bug me' emoticon. Don't we all feel like using that when we are deep in study and our phone suddenly goes 'beep beep'? My second idea is a 'ha ha, fooled you' emoticon which looks like bunny ears. You could use this after you wind someone up. Finally, we need a sarcastic emoticon, because over phone or e-mail you can't tell if someone is being sarcastic or not.

Joyce Chan Ching-yan, 16, Maryknoll Fathers' School

I think the world needs supportive emoticons as we are facing difficulties, such as pressure from school, friends and family. We all need support and courage to move on. A supportive emoticon would instil power and lift our spirits. Then we don't have to text 'add oil'.

Samantha Cheng, 12, International School of Beijing

I think an emoticon that is half a smiley face and half a sad face is what we need. Everyone will reach a stage where there are fights or unpleasant events with your parents or other people and you feel angry. Then sometimes you find out those people were just trying to help you. This emoticon shows the way you feel: relief mixed with a little bit of sadness.

Talise Tsai, 15, Discovery College

Forget adding more facial icons until there's a unified system. The problem is not the lack of emoticons; it's the lack of mutual understanding of the existing ones. A couple of times I have insulted someone by mistake because I thought I was being funny, but they interpreted it in an offensive way. So the answer is, none. The world needs a universal code.

Eina Gurung, 16, St Margaret's Girls' College

While texting or chatting I find it difficult to type an emoticon for nervous or frightened. The nervous emoticon is definitely the one emoticon I would want: something with mellow eyebrows and a zigzag mouth. I haven't seen it anywhere but that would be top of my list because whenever I feel like I need that emoticon, it's not there, so I work with ':('. It's not very convincing, to be honest. It's as if my emotions can't get through to the person I'm texting with. The world defnitely needs a nervous emoticon.

Jennifer Tang Wing-lam, 15, Carmel Secondary School

Fake listening! That's the new emoticon the world needs. It will be a nodding head with a hand on the chin and a thinking bubble above it. It is rude to tell your friends that they are rambling on too much - you can't say 'Hey! Stop texting me about your boyfriend!' So, the next time your friends are rambling, fake listening emoticon will come to the rescue!

Patricia Ng, 15, Tak Nga Secondary School

So far, emoticons only contain motions or images. It would be better if we could hear a sound upon receiving an emoticon to make the online conversation more realistic and fun. On the other hand, sometimes we may not fully understand some of the emoticons, so these new ones could also help us express our feelings more clearly.

Minal Daswani, 16, Island School

I do not really use emoticons so I'm not that familiar with the ones that exist now. But it would be really cool to have a good luck emoticon, so people can wish each other luck without typing the words. Another awesome emoticon would be one that says 'Happy Birthday'.

Agnes Fung Lap-shin, 13, Diocesan Girls' School

These days, people often take things for granted. Also, they send messages instead of talking face to face. Sometimes we find it difficult to say a proper 'Thank you!' to someone we are grateful to. If there was a thank you emoticon, we could express our gratitude simply by pressing a button. This would encourage young people not to forget their manners.