Messages from the outside, real world

As a boy, I was always puzzled by the warning in the car's mirror: "Objects in mirror are closer than they appear". It was there, as a constant warning about the exterior world. In my childhood I spent thousands of hours in the car: going to school, to some sport matches, on a trip, etc.

Nowadays I happily lack of a car. The mail has replaced it: Gmail is the place where I spent most of the time now, so to say. The actual notice from the outside world is not that threatening, but positive about it, and even cheerful: "No new mail! Want to read updates from your favorite sites? Try Google Reader".

Maybe I should read this novel to understand that mirrors and internet distort reality...