Last year when I read Distracted by Maggie Jackson, I had no idea that I would be reminded of the insights in her book as often as I have been. One of the ideas I have pondered often is what is real and what is not. What was once considered artificial is now considered real in our world. Online relationships are as real to many people as their relationships with their physical neighbors. There was one particular story in Distracted that hit me hard. Well, actually there were several. One that comes to my mind is her recounting of a group of people involved in an online game with avatars. When surveyed, there was a large number that believed that their avatars were their real lives and this life is their artificial one. My mind was alarmed! Over the past year, what is real has come to be something that I desire to choose. I know there is a place for technology in our lives, but I love to think that someone has done or ma...