Gen Z is notoriously bad at picking up the phone. Boomers grew up on it.
A new social experiment wants to get them talking − to each other.
Outside of a busy coffee shop on Boston University’s campus, a sign on a bright yellow pay phone invites passersby to "call a boomer." In a lobby across the country at Sierra Manor, a subsidized senior housing facility in Reno, Nevada, a similar pay phone reads, "call a zoomer." When a user on either end of the line picks up the phone, it automatically dials the companion phone. The calls are free for both users.
The biotech startup Matter Neuroscience installed the phones as a social experiment to connect Gen Z with older adults, two age demographics experiencing high levels of loneliness. The phones, installed the first week of March, will stay up at least until April 9.
"They’re two demographics that often are at odds as far as perspectives and just outlooks on the world, and you might not think that they have a lot in common," says Calla Kessler, a social strategist for Matter who helped come up with the project. "Being able to connect them and encourage conversation might introduce some positivity in both of their lives, some friendship that's much needed and a wisdom exchange."
