As Boston residents get outside this spring, those walking along Commonwealth Avenue near the Boston University campus may see an unusual sight: a phone housed in a bright yellow box with the words “call a boomer” emblazoned on it.
The idea, cooked up by the biotech company Matter Neuroscience, is simple. One phone sits on the streets of Boston (OK, technically, Brookline), available for anyone to use. Another phone sits in the lobby of Sierra Manor, an affordable housing building for seniors in Reno, Nevada. Interested users on either end can pick up the phone, automatically dialing the counterpart on the other side of the country.
The phones are free to use. If no one picks up on the other end, users will be able to leave voicemails. The conversations are being recorded, and Matter is planning on using snippets of some of them on social media.
“Younger adults and older adults tend to experience the highest levels of loneliness of any age group, so the goal of this project is to inspire generational connection through meaningful conversations, despite differences in age, lifestyle, or politics,” a plaque on the phone reads.
Earlier this year, Matter set up a phone in San Francisco and another in Abilene, Texas. The company specifically chose a predominantly liberal city and a very conservative one. Its goal was to connect people across the political spectrum, encouraging them to overcome polarization and find common ground, according to Calla Kessler, a social strategist for Matter.
It was a hit, she said, resulting in more than 350 conversations and 400 voicemails. The company decided to keep the phones operational, and they are currently still available in San Francisco and Abilene.
As a follow-up, Matter’s leadership wanted to focus on a generational, instead of a political, divide. Boston was identified as a prime candidate to host one phone, since the city is full of students and young people who are civically engaged and potentially open to participating in a project like this, Kessler said. A Matter employee had a connection with Volunteers of America, which runs Sierra Manor in Reno. Leaders there were excited to participate.
So last weekend, the phone was installed outside the Pavement Coffeehouse at 736 Commonwealth Ave. in Brookline. The location is right next to a BU building, and Matter hopes that it will attract the attention of students.
The line is now operational. Matter entered into an agreement with Pavement to host the phone for a month. The company will evaluate how popular it is and potentially extend this duration, Kessler said.
Matter was founded in 2019. Its core business is based around an app that aims to create accessible ways for people to learn about the neuroscience of happiness and how they can apply it to their own lives.
“We hear a lot about physical fitness, but how can we be emotionally fit? Our framework is based on helping people understand that happiness is a practice and once you understand how it’s created on a molecular level, you can start tailoring your life to opening yourself up to these positive experiences that ultimately lead to a happy life,” Kessler said.
