Cross about ticks (typographical)

For quite a while now I've been wondering about the common typographic symbol, the tick "✔". It so difficult to type these useful little symbols on any modern electronic device (including phones, tablets and computers) that people are starting to give up on them. In MS Excel, the application where I most often want to use them, I need to select Windings font then select a character code that represents a variant of "u". In UTF-8 they seem to be the symbol ✔ which is way outside the everyday character set.

I have some questions, if you know answers then please provide them in the comments:

• Is this a local problem, that is, am I being UK centric and does the rest of the world just not care?

• Do you call them "ticks" where you come from or is this the UK English name for them?

• Is this a deliberate deprecation that is, was a decision made somewhere to do away with the little fellas?

• Why is the tick symbol so difficult to include in spreadsheets and documents?

• Are we witnessing the demise of something valuable here?

• And finally, how do I complain and who do I complain to?

If there are any typographers out there with the answer then please let me know.

Thanks.