So, be honest. Raise your hand if you will. Are you an office gossip?

No?

See, now that's where you just might be wrong. 'Psst, he's lying!' I may stage-whisper to the colleague next to me, sidling up on my swivel chair to deliver the latest tidbits of scandal.

But before I'm accused of tittle-tattling, let me just say I'm not on about gossip in the malicious sense. I'm talking G.O.S.S.I.P. That's Gadget-Obsessed, Status Symbol Infatuated Professionals.

Don't worry; I'm one too! Well, sort of.

Recent research conducted by recruitment firm Office Angels confirmed that office workers of today are partial to new, expensive essentials, ranging from the PDA (personal digital assistant for those not in the know) and coveted Apple iPod to the humble mobile phone (oh, and a gym bag. Of course.) Oh, and let's not forget the food. Apparently, the most favoured nosh for the ambitious worker is sushi and organic salads, along with a decaffeinated cappuccino.

So I DO advise that you leave the plastic lunchbox and cling-filmed sandwiches behind tomorrow.

And that packet of pork pies you whipped out of the fridge.

I'll be sure to hide my Tesco carrier in shame, for with my lack of interest in eating sushi (is that stuff actually edible? Give me a ham salad roll and a Bounty any day) I'm obviously not 'cool'.

In any case, this new breed of workers is rapidly reproducing, or so it seems. Take a look at the contents of your work bag. Mobile? Mp3 player? PDA? I may not have the sushi or the gym bag but I most certainly have the techie bits. Does this mean I'm a GOSSIP too?

Yes.

Being a busy student, I will shamefully admit that I cannot live without my PDA. Okay, so I don't mean that LITERALLY...but you get the picture.

That small, handy device has become such a useful tool for my everyday life that I often wonder how I managed before. Actually, come to think of it, I DID manage...with a full-to-bursting organiser stuffed with scribbled notes and the added discomfort of having to carry the heavy item round in my bag. Now I can organise my whole life...and it fits perfectly in my pocket.

The scary part is that it's actually 'getting on' in terms of the Tungsten range.

Technology changes ever so quickly, leaving you slightly disappointed when you've cleared out your bank account for on the latest gizmo only to find that two weeks' down the line, it's outdated.

Mobile phones are now capable of pretty much everything besides cooking your dinner. (No doubt it's only a matter of time before Motorola blesses us with that option. I wish.) I too have fallen under the spell of mobile desire. 'I want it to do everything!' I remember saying, envious of friends and colleagues brandishing the latest mobile phones and showing off the many fabulous features that kind of make one forget that yes, this is actually a PHONE, and the original point of such devices was to simply call people.

Said the young, chirpy sales assistant: 'It comes with insert a list of features here, including sat-nav and TV. Do you want TV on your phone?' 'Are you kidding? Of course I do!' Have I ever watched anything of the sort? No. Did I really need all of those features? Pfft, no.

In reality, I've only ever used my phone for the very reason Alexander Graham Bell invented the phone in the first place. To talk to people.

The same goes for cameras. Last year, I fell in love with the Sony DVD camcorders and purchased one. Why? Because I wanted it. 'You NEED it', said the little voice inside my head, convincing me that I do, in fact, need to film everything in sight, thus making it a useful purchase.

'Let's think logically for a moment,' continued the voice. 'What if, say, some naked skateboarders whizzed past your window? Wouldn't THAT be a good one to upload to YouTube? You'd SO need that camcorder.' To be honest, I've probably used my gorgeous blue DVD camcorder a grand total of twice. So far, no naked people have run amok in my street (which should really be considered a positive thing). But there's that feeling of ownership attached to pricey items like this. What if I DID want to use it? I'd need to have the best!

Which makes me ponder the question: are we getting too greedy?

Technology is handed to us on a plate. We can meet and converse with people around the globe, make our views and pictures viewable to the entire world.

Information can be gleaned from a webpage within seconds, making research a hundred times easier than it was before. Online news is updated round the clock. Heck, we can even do our grocery shopping without even moving from our seats (but yes, that IS lazy, I have to admit).

We have the whole world presented to us within a couple of clicks. Whether you have a desktop PC, laptop or even Net access on your PDA as you rush round the office like the busy worker you are, you never have to look very far to gain all the info you require.

But do we actually give this ultimate ease a second thought?

Quite often I've noticed that sometimes, we take those little technological luxuries for granted. I can't imagine life without email and Net access, and quite frankly, don't WANT to imagine such an existence! But think about it; we're quick to hurry out and buy the latest gadget. Is this new bout in technology spurring us on to become somewhat ungrateful, obsessive and lazy?

Possibly. It's all too easy now. But still, spoiled as I may be, nobody is taking away my handbag full of gadgets. I'm one proud GOSSIP.

And I don't even have to get up to go to that all-important water cooler.

Technology rocks!