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Along a bustling sidewalk in Boston, a bright yellow payphone invites folks to “call a Boomer.”
Almost 3,000 miles away in Reno, Nevada, a nearly identical phone prompts residents of Sierra Manor – an apartment complex for seniors – to “Call a Zoomer.” The goal is simple: to get strangers to talk to each other.
The project, often referred to as simply “Call a Boomer,” is the latest initiative from Matter Neuroscience, a New York-based company dedicated to mapping the “biomarkers of happiness.”
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By connecting “two of the loneliest demographics” (older adults and younger adults), the project aims to prove that on a molecular level, “humans need one another in order to be happy,” according to Calla Kessler, a social strategist at Matter Neuroscience.
Along a bustling sidewalk in Boston, a bright yellow payphone invites folks to “Call a Boomer.” (Matter Neuroscience)
“Younger adults and older adults tend to experience the highest levels of loneliness of any age group,” the company wrote on its website. “So the goal of this project is to inspire generational connection through meaningful conversations, despite differences in age, lifestyle or politics.”
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The hope, according to Kessler, is that the calls will shift the brain’s focus from stress to bonding.
“Our neuroscience angle is cannabinoids over cortisol,” Kessler told Digital. “Cannabinoids are the feel-good neurotransmitter in our brain that creates that warm feeling with a friendship — and when you activate cannabinoids, you’re counteracting the negative effects of cortisol, which is our primary stress hormone.”
“Younger adults and older adults tend to experience the highest levels of loneliness of any age group,” the company noted. (Matter Neuroscience)
This isn’t Matter’s first round of payphones. Its initial experiment connected one of the most liberal cities in the U.S. (San Francisco) with one of the most conservative (Abilene, Texas).
“We basically just wanted people to find common ground and encourage people to think beyond labels,” Kessler said.
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She noted that the negative results were “almost negligible,” with most participants enjoying their time speaking to different people.
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Now, the focus has shifted from political labels to generational divides.
The negative results have beem “almost negligible,” with most participants enjoying their time speaking to different people. (Matter Neuroscience)
As the “Call a Boomer” experiment continues, the team is busy collecting audio files of these intergenerational chats to prove that simple connections with other humans can help improve mental health.
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“Our research is essentially trying to find a non-pharmaceutical cure to depression,” Kessler added.
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Looking ahead, she said, “we’ll definitely be doing fun things that we hope get people’s attention and inspire them to learn a little more about themselves.”
