This week I was surprised when the managing director of a local print company told me he had no time for the internet and would not have email in his offices.

He said: "I can't see what it is good for. If I want to communicate with someone then I write them a letter or call them on the phone. I know how to do both of those things and I don't need to employ a communications engineer."

I knew this printer ran an extremely busy technology-based business with digital print and computers everywhere.

I just could not understand how he managed to run his business without the internet when so much printed material originates as digital data.

I asked him about graphics file transfers and was told he had a bureau that handled that kind of thing.

To be fair, although I doubted he could deliver my print work fast enough, I decided to give his company a try and guess what - they delivered two days early and did a fantastic job.

This experience made me reconsider my own deeply-seated view that the internet is indispensable. I started wondering how we would manage without email and the web to use as a research tool?

The answer shocked me because I thought I might actually enjoy life a lot more without technology. I would not feel obliged to check my email first thing every morning and would wait eagerly for the post.

This would give me a few more minutes to sip and enjoy an early-morning cup of tea, read a proper newspaper and allow me to spend a little more quality time at home with my family.

But then I choose to check my email first thing in the morning, I always sip my morning tea at my computer anyway and my family are far too busy themselves, rushing around, trying to get ready.

I then thought about research. Like many people, I love the feel of paper as I read and the smell of a new book is exquisite. But the trouble with most books is they are out of date before they are published.

The only way to get up-to-the-minute information is to speak directly to the people who hold that data or check their web site.

Like many high-level internet users rebelling against internet overload, I had fallen foul of the idea that there was a "Golden Age" before technology, where everything was lovely and the world was a better place.

Sadly, this probably was not the case.

Think back 50 years. It took days for mail to reach any overseas destination.

Long-distance phone calls cost a fortune and text-based research was a laborious hit-and-miss affair at best.

People worked longer hours, had less leisure time and were not appreciably happier than they are today.