They are. Now don't get me wrong, I think phonetic script is better solely based on ease of use, but there are advantages to a symbolic script (and I might not be so glib had I grown up with it). Saying that one is infinitely or even much better than the other shows ignorance, not wisdom. They are different, and serve their languages good in its own way.

Ironically, electronically symbolic actually is faster to use than phonetic, particularly in texting. Since the sound attached to each symbol is only one or two characters, it would only take 3 or 6 taps to spell nearly any word in Chinese. Once they get the hang of it, the speed with which the Japanese or Chinese can text fairly detailed sentences is amazing.