LIFE WITHOUT GADGETS

The popularity of promotional gadgets comes on the back of electronic items enjoying a peak in their image. Gone are the days when anyone with the latest gizmo was derided for being a geek, and now the latest "must have" gadgets have people queuing outside shops at midnight so that they can be among the first to get their hands on the newest release.

Promotional gadgets appeal to both recipients and companies because they provide practical and stylish items for businesses to display their brand on and for the recipient's to be seen with. Promotional gadgets are riding a wave of popularity at the moment, just take a look around you the next time you're on the train and see how many people are plugged in to the latest hi-tech release. But what would you do if your gadgets were taken away from you? Would you be lost without the gadgets that have become such an important part of everyday life?

It's easy to think that you wouldn't miss them for a second, but when you think about it electronic gadgets have almost taken over every minute of our lives. From the moment the alarm on your phone wakes you up in the morning to checking your Facebook on an app before you go to bed, gadgets have become more and more important in every day life.

So if we all experienced a Life On Mars style plunge back into the seventies, what would life be like?

Well, sales of alarm clocks would spike as all of us who rely on our phones to wake us up in the morning would soon need to find a replacement. Want to find out what the scores were last night while you're eating your breakfast? Well, there's no longer an app for that and there's no internet so it's teletext or bust if you want to find out the state of the league table.

Now, getting to work. There's no website to check when the next bus or train is so it's into the drawer to find out the paper timetable you've been holding on to for emergencies. Now you're on your way to work and of course, there's no E-Reader so you have to stop off at the newsagents for a newspaper or a real book made of paper for a bit of light entertainment on the way in to work.

Once you're on the train there's no laptops any more so no chance of finishing that report that absolutely had to be done for Monday morning. And of course there is a leaf on the line, forcing your train to make one of those oh so amusing unscheduled stops in the middle of nowhere. Time to phone in to work to tell them you're running late, but of course, no mobile phones.

Once you get moving again you decide you want to listen to some music, so time to crack out the MP3 play....oh yes, no gadgets. This is also the seventies so not even the trusty walkman has arrived on the scene yet, so humming will have to suffice.

When you eventually get off the train to the relief of your fellow passengers who got sick of you humming a long time ago you make the last dash into work, 45 minutes late. Not only are you late but you haven't finished the report you were meant to have done by this morning so you know you are in trouble with the boss. Only you work in internet marketing and you get to the office to find that no internet means that you have no job.