FULL EPISODE: Is Your Phone Your Comfort Blanket? - February 16, 2026
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
unfiltered discussions unexpected guests no topic is off limits from sex and relationships to the human condition personal anxieties and so much more the only talk show of its kind in the world world this is the last show with david cooper
How does smartphone use reflect deeper psychological needs?
Hello, welcome, it's The Last Show. Hope you had a nice holiday day off. If you had it off, I didn't because I'm here with you now. Don't feel bad, I'm so happy to be. Here are some of the things you'll learn on tonight's program. Things from your childhood that you swore were terrible. Years later, you look back and think, huh, maybe it wasn't that bad or that dramatic. You feel a bit nuts when that happens, but it turns out it's completely normal. In 10 minutes time, we'll look at new research that shows why your memory doesn't always tell the truth.
Can childhood memories shift based on current relationships?
Then after that, are kids naturally fair or just trained culturally? There is a new global study looking at hundreds of children that might change the way you think about morality and how it's learned. That halfway through the hour. Those are some of the topics we'll cover. There will be more. You will learn more. But for now, let's dive in. Want to be part of the last show with David Cooper? Call us and join the conversation. 1-888-505-6644
What role does culture play in children's cooperation?
Do you think your partner is addicted to their phone? Do they look at it constantly while you're trying to have a conversation? What if that little glowing screen they stare at while they talk to you isn't a sign of disrespect? It's attachment anxiety in disguise. So let's ask this question. Has your smartphone become your emotional support blanket? That is what Dr. Claire Hart has researched. She's a psychology professor at the University of Southampton in the UK. Claire, what a joy it is to have you on the show. Aren't you glad I'm not staring at my phone while we start talking?
Should you be a good neighbor, and what does that mean?
I appreciate it. Fubbing, which is maybe my favorite annoying word. It means snubbing people by going on your phone. I think the immediate reaction when you're talking to someone and they whip out their phone and pay attention to it is that it's rude. But you thought to ask the question, is something else going on with that person? Yeah, I think the response, we've done a lot of research on fubbing now, and whenever I do talk about it with anybody, that is the first response. It's rude. But what we wanted to do here was show that for some people, the phone is actually being used as a way of meeting psychological needs. So it's not just about rudeness, it's You know, for people who are using their phone for reassurance, for validation, for feeling important.
And yes, the consequence is that you then fub your partner. But there's a reason why you're doing that. Could it have something to do with anxiety? If it's at a party, maybe social anxiety. If it's when you're alone with your partner, maybe just like a general form of anxiety. Could it have something to do with that? Definitely. I mean, we were actually interested in whether certain people are more likely to fob than others. So we actually drew on attachment theory, which explains how people differ in how secure they are in their close relationships.
How can grief be processed through unique experiences?
So attachment styles, they basically develop from early experiences that you have growing up. And most people are generally secure, but there are other people who fall into that insecure category. So you might be high in what we call attachment anxiety, where you tend to worry about rejection and abandonment and you really crave reassurance. Or you might be high in attachment avoidance, where you're quite uncomfortable with closeness and you prefer emotional distance and independence. So we wanted to see how that impacts whether or not you're likely to fub and how you perceive being fubbed by other people. So how does my attachment style affect whether I'm going to fub? Side note, I always find this attachment theory kind of rude because there's four kinds and only one seems good.
The other three seem kind of bad. Very true. In our study, we found that people who were more anxiously attached are the ones that really crave reassurance.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–0:26
2
How does smartphone use reflect deeper psychological needs?
0:26–0:55
3
Can childhood memories shift based on current relationships?
0:55–1:28
4
What role does culture play in children's cooperation?
1:28–2:01
5
Should you be a good neighbor, and what does that mean?
2:01–3:14
6
How can grief be processed through unique experiences?
3:14–4:09
7
What is the experience of running a comedy show in a cat cafe?
4:09–4:40
8
How can daily mental sharpness enhance productivity?
4:40–1:20:08
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