Sometimes we just need to share our innermost thoughts and hear a little good news. So when the Instagram account We’re Not Really Strangers started sharing stories about kindness and connection, people took notice.
In one of its projects, the team set up a bright red phone on a table in what appears to be a busy outdoor plaza. A sign in front of the table reads, “Tell me your good news!” As people stroll—or, in some cases, skateboard—by, a few decide to take the challenge.
One post shows a man spotting the sign and picking up the phone. His voice breaks almost immediately:
“I found out my dad was cancer-free today. And things haven’t been going well recently so…it really meant a lot. I think the social media stuff is weird and there’s a lot of it around here, but I don’t know, for some reason the phone felt like a good person to tell. So I’m really happy that my dad is cancer-free.”
He casually hangs up the receiver with the same ease he picked it up and goes about his day. But the number of people this brief conversation has touched is astounding. With more than 6 million likes and 38,000 comments on the Instagram clip alone, moments like these seem to be giving people hope.
The comments were just as heartwarming, with many people saying they could relate. One person wrote, “I’ve legitimately never been happier for a stranger.” Another simply offered love: “Hugs for his precious soul and his dad.”
Another Instagram user said he knows the man and is deeply proud of him: “That’s my best friend. I think he’s so brave for sharing that. And now I’m happily crying for him on the internet.” That comment itself received nearly 97,000 likes and hundreds of supportive replies.
On Facebook, beneath the same video, one commenter wrote, “The quiver in his voice kills me,” and many others echoed the sentiment.
It’s all part of The Little Red Phone project, which its creators describe as offering “daily reminders that you’re not alone.” The prompts on the signs change from time to time, with questions like, “What are you currently healing from that others don’t see?”
In one post, a man picks up the phone and immediately opens up. “I’m a recovering addict. I was sober for just under four years until this past April. It’s not really something you can see in a person.” He shares his story and ends with a touching thought: “That’s why I really believe in being kind to strangers and not judging anyone.” Then he gently hangs up the phone.
To this, an Instagram user wrote, “Rooting for you. You’re worthy of a healthy and peaceful life, dear stranger.”
Similarly, in another clip, a woman answers the red phone and is asked the same question. (In her case, she asked the team to blur her face.) Her answer is just as raw and vulnerable:
“I suffer with severe depression. And nobody really knows, especially since I’m a very bubbly person. I hope this helps other people feel less alone because I thought I was struggling alone. And therapy did help, and medication did help. So yeah, thank you.”
Again, people were incredibly supportive. One person commented, “The ‘thank you’ is so kind.”
The common thread running through the videos—and among the people watching them—seems to be that we are not, in fact, alone. Beneath what often seems meant to divide us is a connection that’s stronger than those divisions. Leaning into that kindness is the key.
