I’ve always been one for gadgets… still am to a degree.

But, as I’ve got older – matured, some might say – my rapaciousness for the latest all-singing, all-dancing doodah has diminished.

In fact, in line with the inverse square law (well, sort of), as gadgets have become even more gadgety, my desire for them has grown less and less.

I’ve always had a thing for wristwatches (my only jewellery affectation) and I’ve owned many over the years. As a kid, I was the first in our school to own an LED watch and the second to get an LCD one. And over the years, I owned a succession of watches, all boasting a plethora of functions: built in timers; alarms; stopwatches; calculators, etc. The more functions it had, the happier I was.

But then, some years ago, I went all retro and bought myself a plain and simple analogue watch which could tell me the time and no more.  And that’s how it’s been ever since. Mrs M bought me a new watch for Christmas and I love it: plain and simple, it just tells me the time and the date – however, unless I have my reading glasses on, that little date window is a complete waste of time!

I have to admit that I like the look and functionality of the Pebble watch, but in all honesty, I don’t think I would wear one now. I’ve grown up. Or got old.

Of course, the latest must-have gadget, so ubiquitous in the high street, is the tablet and it seems almost everyone has either an iPad or Android slate tucked about their person nowadays.  Mrs M got a couple for the kids for Christmas and she seemed so impressed with them that I got her one too.

Now, they all sit together on the sofa, playing on their tablets, whilst I – failed Gadgetboy – feel left out, because I haven’t got one. I’m not in their club.

But, in all honesty, I really don’t want one. I’ve had a play with theirs and, despite being very impressed with the technology,  I cannot actually think of a use for one.

Apart from playing games.

Which I don’t do anymore.

Because I’ve grown up.

But, I’ll readily admit that as gadgets go, I’ve grown to love my smartphone. I don’t use the camera much, or the mp3 player, or the built-in FM radio, or any of the the social media applications, or the voice controlled functionality, or the pseudo Office suite. But I do have a couple of database apps on there which allow me to carry a lot of information around with me at all times.

And information – as they say – is power.

Or, at least, very useful.