Loneliness researchers consistently identify two groups as the most socially isolated: young adults in their late teens and twenties, and older adults in their sixties and beyond. Matter Neuroscience, a New York-based company focused on the science of human connection, decided to do something quietly radical about both at once.
They bought two refurbished payphones online, reprogrammed them to connect directly to each other, and placed them almost 4,800 kilometres (3,000 miles) apart. One went outside Pavement Coffeehouse near Boston University in the northeastern United States. The other went into the recreation area at Sierra Manor, a Volunteers of America affordable senior housing community in Reno, Nevada. The Boston phone is bright yellow and reads "Call a Boomer." The Reno phone reads "Call a Zoomer." Lift either receiver, and it rings the other. No number to dial, no app, no account — just a phone call between strangers.
In one documented exchange, 21-year-old Ryan Marcantonio, a Boston University economics student, picked up the phone and was connected to 73-year-old Maria Jaynes in Reno. They talked about the weather — a -6°C (20°F) chill in Boston versus a warm, sunny day in Nevada — then discovered they both had a connection to horses and cattle. The call lasted several minutes.
Matter Neuroscience co-founder Ben Goldhirsh described the project as a prompt: a way of asking people whether they are genuinely connecting with those around them. The company's broader aim is to identify what they call the "biomarkers of happiness" — essentially, to find a science-backed, non-pharmaceutical way to address depression and loneliness.
The experiment's negative results, according to the team, have been almost negligible. Plans are underway to expand the payphones to California, Dallas, and other locations.