What is our reality

The question came up when I was watching 'A Dinner with Andre', what is reality? We create such a great amount of our environment but is that good? We have certain odd standards which seem to distort our interaction with people, habit becoming a way off life. For example teachers and professors create this collection of information and repeat the course again and again after they did it once. They know when to make jokes and know already what to say at the beginning of the year. The average human in western society lifes in a dreamworld created by others we do not try to be within our environment but simply choose to enjoy while not even attempting to break out of this dreamworld. How many people break out of habits? How many people really attempt to see something they do not see? Most people today are filled with apathy and disinterest in actually taking actions. We might as well call the modern man who lifes in a dreamworld the sleeping man, they do not attempt to do something different. People use heating, and other tools to distance themselves from the environment and reality by doing so the times of the years become less and less impacting.
What causes the continuous boredom of people these days? Watching TV? The living after the rule of money? Talking about leaving a city or place but never doing so?
For example just ask yourself the question 'What actually affect me?'