I was invited to my daughter's for dinner. Good, I thought, we can have a good chat when the washing-up is done. But she had vanished.

I didn't know there had been an unexpected new addition to the family - a computer! There she was, emailing away, completely hypnotised.

My grandson phoned to say he would be over soon. Good, I thought, a chance to catch up on all his news.

When he came I went to the kitchen to have tea. What was he doing when I came back? Texting all his friends on his mobile phone.

I seemed to be invisible. So I went to call on one of my other grandsons. What did he spend his time doing? Playing car racing on his Playstation 2. I must be out of touch with this modern world.

-Pearl Slade, Brighton