MY passport is due for renewal, which made me ponder a few thoughts. Firstly: blimey, where did the last ten years go? And secondly, gosh, am I really that much older (and more crucially, do I look like I am?)

It prompted a bout of navel gazing – not just into my own life, but to that of the wider world. My mind switched to re-wind, whirring backwards to recall the events of a decade ago (that seemed to have evaporated faster than the LibDems fortunes on election night).

In May 2005, Labour were celebrating winning a third term under Tony Blair, albeit with a much reduced majority of 66. David Cameron replaced Michael Howard as Tory leader.

The FA cup made history, not least because it was the last one played in Cardiff ahead of the opening of the new Wembley Stadium, but because it was the first to be decided by penalties. Arsenal took home the silverware in a penalty shoot against Manchester United, winning 5-4.

In tennis, Rodger Federer and Serena Williams were crowned King and Queen of Wimbledon, while music fans endured flooding at Glastonbury, where the White Stripes, Coldplay and Basement Jaxx were among the headliners.

In July, musicians united for the global Live 8 concerts, scheduled to tie in with the G8 summit in Scotland, with a campaigning message to stamp out poverty and raise the profile of Third World debt.

Celebrations following the announcement that London was to host the Olympic Games in 2012 turned to despair the very next day when the capital was attacked by four suicide bombers, killing 52 civilians and injuring 700 others. It was the worst terrorist atrocity in the UK since the Lockerbie bombing in 1988.

Ten years ago, average house prices were £152,000, the average salary was £23,389 and a pint of milk cost 30p.

Today, the cost of an average home in the UK is £196,412; average earnings are £26,500 and a pint of milk is 49p at Tesco (but we all know you can pick up a four-pint carton for a quid, or 89p when on offer, much to the lament of our poor dairy farmers).

You don't need me to tell you that earnings have not moved much in the past ten years – you just have to look at your pay packet to see that.

For most of the decade, we have been shouldering the impact of the global financial crash of 2008, which ushered in the era of austerity that looks here to stay now that the Tories have won a majority in last week's election.

Besides feeling collectively hard-up, we are now possibly the most narcissistic society in history. As if the rise of the selfie wasn't bad enough, we now have to contend with the ridiculous selfie stick, meaning no occasion or location is out of bounds for the social media addict determined to get their face in the frame.

Our phones are now items we cannot do without. We use them for sending messages, keeping our diary and contacts, taking photos, storing photos, giving us directions, accessing the internet, playing games, banking, shopping, listening to music and watching TV and movies. Oh, and making calls.

Compare our use of them today to 2005, before Facebook and Twitter were publicly launched. If all that can happen in a decade, the mind truly boggles at what we will be doing with our phones in 2025.

Their ubiquity is staggering. There are more mobile devices in the world than there are humans – some 7.22 billion pieces of kit, reaching every far-flung corner of the globe.

While we might have concerns over the misuse of this new technology (just how many times have you checked your Facebook page today?) there is no denying the good it has brought too. For the millions of people across the world living in danger from natural or political forces, they are now connected to us in a way that was impossible before.

And perhaps that is the best legacy from the past ten years.