Just say no to the BlackBerry brigade

I don't know if I'm ready for the fast-paced corporate world just yet; because over the past few weeks I've met a number of senior executives whose BlackBerry never leaves their side day or night. One high flier told me he starts sending his first e-mails from his personal digital system at 5am. "The wife and kids are up by then," he explained, "so I might as well get going on the day's work too."

But I'm just not ready for that. For a start I don't think I'd be able to operate the device; I was brought up in jungles and on tiny islands and despite over a decade as a city dweller I've never quite got to grips with technology. I can barely operate my recently purchased microwave and sending a text message on my extremely basic Nokia is still a huge challenge.

When I first bought my latest mobile phone I resorted to the old-fashioned method of phoning everyone because texting was such a painstakingly slow process. Rather than speed up my life, the gadget was slowing it down.

But it's not just my techophobia that makes me uneasy about joining the BlackBerry brigade, it's my personal space. Yes, more often than not I am up at 5.30 in the morning.

My 23-month-old daughter – my personal alarm clock – rises with the dawn, which means I am forced out of my peaceful slumber much earlier than I'd like. But while I can cope with the endless demands of my energetic child – who wants instant entertainment, sustenance and conversation – at such an unsociable hour I could not cope with the demands of my job as well. I don't like to think how I'd react to a request 'to send over that memo ASAP' when I'm still groggy with sleep. And while evening calls are more acceptable, late night messages – except in an emergency – aren't.

One friend used to receive an e-mail on her smart phone at 11.30pm every night from her boss. After the third week of this routine, she started sending him a reply at 4am. The late night messages quickly stopped. And I can understand her motive. Once I leave the office I need to unplug not fill every conscious thought with work worries. And during your leisure time with friends and family do you really want to scroll through e-mails just to stay in the loop? Isn't it more important to save that energy for relaxing?

I like the fact that when you board a plane you are almost uncontactable for the next few hours until touchdown. And when I worked in London, the tube was my respite from the endless office demands. For 20 minutes from Canary Wharf to Waterloo I was totally unavailable and there was nothing anyone could do about it.

But while that will change along with my resistance to owning a handheld computer, this is where the 'crackberry' generation lose out. While they've bought into the concept of being 'connected' 24/7, they've forgotten to leave a little window for themselves.