I was thinking about the days before we had mobile phones (Mr PP and myself), in fact back in 1996, we didnt even have a landline phone in the house and had to go to the phonebox to make any calls.

My first mobile phone was quite a chunky thing and cost 50 pence a min to make a call and I remember yelling down the phone to my Dad 'Im calling from a mobile, cant speak long' and then hanging up. Why I felt the need to yell when I was on a mobile or even call him to tell him and then hang up I do not know.

Its a bit like when you first go abroad you have to call someone in your family - anyone will do, just so you can say 'I am calling from Turkey' and you adopt that loud, slow voice as though you are talking to someone that can't understand you.

The first time I got a computer and connected to the internet, I remember saying to Mr PP 'Thats it, we are on the internet now' and then feeling nervous about how much it would cost as we had a 'freeserve' account and were charged by the minute. 'Be careful' Mr PP said rather nervously and I would gaze at Internet Explorer and decide it was indeed dangerous and then disconnect feeling a bit 'naughty' for going on the world wide web.

Then I got a laptop and joined AOL - Oh how I loved their site, it was like a well designed living room and I had unlimited internet dial up and would be on there all night, having been sucked into the evils of the net and that was even before I had heard of BE so there is no hope for me now .

Mobile phones got smaller, cheaper, more efficient. Computers got cheaper and more accessible and that meant we could be contacted at any time.

The other night I was on the internet (BE and Facebook if you must know) and my phone rang and it was someone from work needing some info, I have a wealth of information on my crappy shitty 'big mistake' of a Nokia E72 (regret does not even cover it and Im stuck with the bastard for 2 years), so I was able to help my colleague.

Are our lives better for this technology? Did you prefer the days when a day off meant just that and you couldnt be contacted?

Or do you like the feeling that people can get in touch whenever they want?

I love new gadgets and am continually fascinated with how stuff develops and will admit to wondering how we managed without computers and phones.

But sometimes, just sometimes I do miss the days where you couldnt be 'found' and your day off was your day off and nothing could disturb it.

I absolutely wish we could go back to the days before mobiles. Commuting now is like travelling in a giant phonebox, being assaulted by 10 different conversations held by people who have no indoor voice. If someone calls and can't get you immediately you get the 'OMG where are you, I've been trying to reach you for 12 seconds' hysterical voicemail. Grrr..

I liked being off work meaning I was off work, I hate my husbands clients calling him on a Sunday afternoon simply because THEY have no life and can't wait until Monday morning. Back in the day, if I was late people waited for me, there was no need to know where I was 24/7.

Somedays I want to go live in a field....

Im always in trouble for leaving my phone switched off, why should other people have the right to contact you at all hours? Not much of a gadget fan either, only got online for the first time two years ago (no shit). Definitely dont share the love with other Brits of poncing around with gadgets and wires hanging out of every orifice.

Got to buck the trend a bit here, and admit I love my phones, ipod and laptop I'm not a real techie type, not interested in all the ipad stuff, electronic books and all that, but I do like the ability to be in constant contact with friends and family - and even work.
I guess part of it stems from being in a job where I'm effectively on-call all the time (if the bomb drops or the tsunami threatens, we'll all be called in) and its a job that relies on phones, blackberries, emails etc. before this role I worked as an officer on-call for one week in seven, everywhere I went, and I mean everywhere, I had a blackberry in one pocket and a mobile in the other. Even now, doing the same job in the office, the phones have to be put to the blackberry whenever we leave the desk, and failure to answer a call is rumoured to be punishable by death at the hands of a firing squad

So its kind-of merged with real life, my laptop goes everywhere with me, rarely switched off while I'm awake,and I have two mobile phones which only get turned off when I'm on a flight! Must sounds really geeky, but it fits my lifestyle, and its just habit now to live this way. I'm lost without my mobiles which vibrate frantically if I'm walking anywhere as my ears are firmly plugged into my ipod!

Having said all that though, I don't like answering mobiles in public - on buses and trains etc - cos I don't think its fair on other travellers. However addicted people are I think its only fair to consider other people who aren't quite as sad and don't live on their gadgets Although I live on my phones its almost all text messages, cos I prefer that level of privacy in my life still. Likewise I'm a big facebook user, but am very limiting as to who I have as friends, cos its mostly for family and people close to me - very different from me on BE.

While packing and sorting through old junk for the big move I came across a box in the loft which had a few old phones in it. There was a first edition motorola startak and the dancall dc1. These were my first phones and you couldn't even text on them.

I also found my 'caner' it was a NEC P3 analogue mobile the size of a brick which had been chipped. All you had to do was buy a set of numbers from some dodgy lads, type the code into the phone and instantly it cloned someone elses phone number. It also had a scanner function on it where you typed a code into it and you could listen in to other analogue phones in the area. Anyone who was into telecommunications in the early 90's will know about this.

So if your phone number was cloned in the ealy 90's, sorry it was probably me racking up your phone bill

I was only thinking about this yesterday ....

We wouldn't have looked at moving so far without the power of technology.

But I can remember my first phone could only store 20 numbers in it!

I feel naked without my mobile to be honest.

I'm very envious of all the kids/teenagers growing up today.

When I was entering my teens and learning about the birds and bees it was a real effort getting hold of some decent pornography. You had to raid your mates dad's secret stash of dodgy videos, or hunt down discarded and ripped jazz mags from dumpsites. These days kids have all sorts of filth just a couple of clicks and a google search away. They don't know how lucky they are!

Google's fantastic.

I could do without everyone expecting me to answer my mobile all the time, 24/7. I could do without 1000 channels of television and the huge remote controls needed to access the cable box, because you can no longer use the cable box or TV controls to do everything. I choose my gadgets carefully.

since coming to Oz I'm more dependent on the net, mostly for keeping in touch with folk back home but strangely I'm less dependent on my mobile, I like to have it with at all times in case I break down or anything but I hardly ever use it compared to what I was like back home. Probably because I don't know anyone here!

The majority of my texts aren't to people here - they're almost always headed north!

Of all the times i have been in yer company,and there have been quite a few,i have never heard yer phone ring nor you take/make a call,Polly no mates me thinks

Like I said, almost all text messages! The only person who rings me is you.....or work..... and as yer phone doesn't work properly now, that does make me Polly no mates, can I have some sympathy please

My phone works rather well actually,here in London anyway

Thats the problem, I'm not in London!!!

Hows the hangover? Do you have any recollection of what you said to me last night?