Press Pause Before Send: A Case in Point

There are many ways in which our digital era is influencing development. There is greater difficulty in delaying gratification, interference in the growth of the capacity for empathy, more trouble in developing the ability to relate face‐to‐face, and overuse of two‐dimensional communication. All of these have implications for clinical work. This article presents a case in point, and some suggestions for ways to attempt to address these difficulties. It is suggested that the clinical situation itself is uniquely valuable as an antidote to the problems posed by the technological world of today.