Vicki Courtney - Logged On and Tuned Out

I always feel slightly ill at ease when I see one of my books sitting on the bookstore shelf with my name emblazoned on the front cover. Perhaps it is because I know better than to think one person is responsible for a beautiful finished product that humbly began as a series of Word documents totaling thirty-five thousand words. That said, I am grateful that the acknowledgments allow me the opportunity to give credit where credit is due.

I love my publisher. Over the past several years, I have had the privilege of getting to know many of the B&H folks beyond their job titles and trust me when I say, these guys are the real deal. Their devotion to the craft is unmistakable, but I am most impressed with their honest sincerity to see a book become more than just words on a page. Much of what I write is a purging of sorts to encourage a much-needed change regarding the culture's negative influences on our children. The B&H crew gets it. I am forever grateful that they have partnered with me in sharing the mission as well as the message. As a newbie author, I honestly don't have a clue as to what actually goes on behind the scenes after a manuscript is e-mailed to the editor. I am more than aware that there are many players, most of whom I have never had the privilege of meeting. I think of the countless sales reps that pitch my books to bookstore buyers, whether it be the small mom-and-pop stores or the Super Wal-Marts. I think of the design team that works on the cover and labors over fonts and color palettes. I think of the folks who are bidding for end caps and product placement ads. To all of you, I say thank you, thank you.

Allow me to brag on a few of the B&H crew whom I've had the privilege of witnessing their work in action over the years. To my editors, Len Goss and Kim Overcash Stanford, thank you for always extending me grace with my deadlines when my schedule gets out of control. Even now, (throat clearing), you (Kim) are anxiously awaiting these acknowledgments and I am grateful for your never-ending patience. I know there is a reason your co-workers have dubbed you, she who must be obeyed, so I will stay up all night to get this done if need be! To Robin Patterson and Bonnie Batey, thank you for all you do to dream up the best marketing strategies ever. To the sales manager extraordinaire, David O'Brien; wow, your energy and enthusiasm amaze me. Thank you for being in my corner. To John Thompson and Craig Featherstone, thank you for your sincere desire as concerned parents to get this word out to other concerned parents. Craig, never switch to de-caf. Your enthusiasm is contagious, my friend. To Ken Stephens and David Shepherd, thank you for believing in what I do, and most of all, for your friendship. I will never forget how special you made me feel on the night we won the Christian Book Award and the impromptu dessert celebration that followed. You made me feel like I was part of the B&H family.

To my Literary Agent, Lee Hough, thank you for giving me your word that you never plan to retire. I wrote it down on the day you said it, and I will continue to remind you of that promise in the years to come. Keith and I are both very grateful for your attention to the details and ability to do a job that outgrew us long ago.

To the Virtuous Reality staff: Shelley, Shawna, Susan, Lindsey, and MicheleI honestly could not write books were it not for you. Because of your willingness to use your God-given abilities, I can rest assured that things are running smoothly when it comes to our events, virtuousreality.com, my blog page (virtuealert.com), etc. Thank you for wearing whatever hat is necessary to accomplish the task at hand. Lindsey, as my assistant, I cannot thank you enough for being the kind of assistant who practically reads my mind. You will never know what peace of mind it brings in my life knowing you're on top of my calendar, speaking requests, interviews, travel details, and the list goes on. You have spoiled me with those awesome travel packets you put together before each of my engagements!

To my husband, Keith, thank you for picking up the slack on the home front so I can write unencumbered. OK, so maybe you didn't have much to offer in the way of advice when it comes to technology, but your non-techie ways sure helped me better relate to the general audience! I confess that I find it adorably cute that you only use two fingers when typing away on your keyboard even though the kids and I poke fun at you on occasion. Bless your heart, I will laugh forever about the time you clicked the wrong button on Amazon and accidentally bought me a paddle boat for $1,100. Stories like that are living proof that this book is neededwithout me, you would still be trying to figure out how to cancel that order! I am blessed beyond belief to be your bride. I cannot wait to grow old with you and sit on our porch swing at the lake house. You are truly my best friend.

Ah, and I could never forget my three wonderful children, Ryan, Paige, and Hayden. I know it is not easy having a mom who writes on teen culture and, especially, the subject of teens' logged-on lives. Thank you for allowing me to share real-life stories that involve your own experiences with technology. Thank you also for your never-ending patience when I camped out for months on MySpace and Facebook while researching for this book. My observations spawned many teachable moments and a few rant sessions over what teens were posting and you patiently endured them all. You are all troopers and it goes without saying that I am honored to be not only your mom, but your Facebook friend as well.

Finally, I could never acknowledge anything of merit without acknowledging my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Without him, I am nothing and I have nothing of value to say. How I long for the world to know of his goodness.

Parents, it's 10:00 p.m. Do you know where your children are? If you're from my generation, you might remember the public service announcement that was a common prelude to the evening news. As a mere child tucked safely away in my bed in the next room, I remember thinking, How could parents not know where their child is? Fast-forward to today, and the slogan takes on a whole new meaning. Our children live in an age when it's possible for them to be physically in the next room tapping away on a keyboard and yet mom and dad have no clue where they're going or to whom they're talking. Can you relate? Chances are, if you have a child in the home that is twelve years or older, you can. And if you're not there just yet, let this serve as a warning: it's coming down the pipe.

I'm betting that when you saw the title of the book, you assumed that the phrase tuned out was a reference to our logged-on children. Nope. That would be usthe hopelessly out-of-touch parents, who if the truth be told, just mastered checking our junk folders for missed e-mails that were mistaken for spam. Maybe you are a bit more tech savvy and have done some online shopping, uploaded your digital photos, and Googled your favorite restaurant to make reservations. You get extra credit if you have installed monitoring software (different from a safety filter) on your computers and set up Google alerts to your children's names. Stop right now and pat yourself on the back; you are among an elite few.

Some teens may deserve the tuned-out label, but for the most part studies show that their wired habits are not leaving them nearly as tuned out to life as we might think. They are commonly referred to as the MySpace Generation, Generation Y, or IM Generation. Their greatest claim to fame is their ability to multitask between a multitude of technology forums. Just recently, I walked into my seventeen-year-old daughter's room while she was researching on her laptop for an English assignment. Within a matter of minutes, I watched her plug a term into a Google search to gather facts for the paper she was writing, toggle over to several IM screens and reply quickly to the messages received, toggle again back to the Google page to try another link, all the while, she has her ear buds in and is singing along to a song in her i-Tunes library. She is briefly interrupted by the buzz of a cell phone in her jeans pocket. She reads the text message and types a lightning fast response. Again, she turns her attention back to the computer screen. Amazing. I'm tired just watching her. And to think, this is the same child that can't seem to remember to wear her retainer at night.