I think they are either living in Rabat or Ladakh. 

To be factual – yes, even in today’s world of instant rumours and phone hacking, we cling onto the notion of facts – the survey, done by the University of Cambridge, was about the Brits.It surveyed over 1,200 people in the UK and “found that one in three people were overwhelmed by technology, including texting, e-mail and social networking.

“Researchers discovered people who felt overwhelmed were more likely to feel less satisfied with their daily lives, and people who felt in control of their use of technology were more likely to be more satisfied.”

Last month, on a flight out of Australia, a country I’ve always admired for seemingly being able to get their priorities right – ie surf’s up, let’s leave office early – I read that it too was turning into “iPlod nation” with people now addicted to work.

Said the report in the Sydney Morning Herald, “If colleagues on Facebook outnumber your friends, a smartphone is the last thing you consult before bed and you can’t resist taking your laptop on holiday, it’s time to get a life.”It said that Australians are now working longer hours, with technology increasingly blurring the boundaries between work and home life.

Well, I don’t know about you but I am feeling more than overwhelmed. I travel with so many gadgets these days I feel like one of these camels I have yet to meet in Rabat – because I haven’t had time to leave the Sofitel – but at least have gotten round to eating one of them for the first time. I feel really bad about that. I was given part of the hump, I think. I don’t think I’ll be trying it again anytime soon.

My Facebook friends have invited me to BranchOut, part of the Facebook tree of life which keeps ever-growing, and a couple have been kind to write nice things about me – and I wonder, should I reciprocate? What is the etiquette? My mother always said, if you don’t have anything nice to say about someone, don’t say anything.

But will not saying anything be construed by the other party as the fact that you don’t think they are nice people when actually maybe you just don’t have the time because you’re overwhelmed?

Anyway, eight minutes after I signed into BranchOut, I was labeled a Super Connector. And then it asked me to do something so that I could climb to Empress Dowager or something like that. Boy, if only real life were that easy …

Then there’s Google+ to look forward to. I haven’t tried it yet. You need an invite or something to get into this more exclusive social network but I quite like the idea of Circles, that there are certain circles of friends you’d want to share something with and the rest you don’t.

Like having an A list of friends vs the B list – problem is, could you end up offending the Bs who think they should be As?

I know I am not alone in being overwhelmed. Last night, under the crescent moon of the Rabat sky (pictured), a hotelier said to me, “I started Weibo couple of months ago, and now have 64,000 followers. What do I do with it?”

Another told me of his teenage son who’s experienced cyber-bullying and what could he do about it as a parent?

I think the people with the right answers are found in Rabat. At the spa yesterday, I booked in for a facial and a massage. Ladies, you’d appreciate this story more. You know the part where they leave the mask on your face and usually in some spas in Asia, the therapist would use that downtime to do something else so that they can shorten your time in the spa room so that the next guest can use it?

Well, my therapist, a pretty 25-year-old Moroccan, left me alone for 20 full minutes. She just slinked out of the room while I slipped into deep rest.

Now that’s overwhelming. Time alone. Gadget-free.