🔗 Share this article

Robert Medhurst passed the majority of his orientation week scrolling through digital networks, seeing content about fellow students partying.

"I stayed indoors," Robert recalls, describing the week as the most solitary phase of his life.

The people he lived with seldom socialized, and his studies didn't appear very sociable.

Despite putting himself out there by going to taster sessions for multiple organizations, he didn't discover his people.

"I started to lose my self-esteem," he says. "I believed others weren't interested to be friends with me, or they didn't like me."

Digital Platform Contrasts

Originally, Robert had no intention of attending college and had a job offer for following college.

However he watched his acquaintances having great fun as university attendees on social media.

"When you must rise for your job during the week at the morning hour and you observe peers partied on the previous evening, you do start thinking situations appear superior," Robert mentions.

College Anticipations

Television programs and digital networks can romanticize the concept of student life.

Numerous students come to university with great anticipations for what they believe could be the most wonderful time of their lives.

Certain attendees arrive at college with "rose-tinted glasses," explains a mental health professional.

Study Outcomes

• In a poll of first-year attendees early on, the primary worry was belonging and feeling included
• Additional research through polling organizations, 17% of students said they lacked friendships at university
• Over one-third reported they experienced concern frequently about building relationships

Personal Experiences

Alisha Miah's TikTok feed was full of videos of girls having fun while cohabitating in college residences.

But when she transferred from London to Sheffield to learn reporting, she found orientation period "overwhelming" because of the substance involvement it involved.

She avoids drinking and had not experienced nightlife before.

"I did spend considerable time initially inside my accommodation," she says. "I merely sensed slightly disconnected."

Mental Health Considerations

In a 2025 survey of more than 10,000 college learners, 29% said they thought about leaving university.

The primary factor was psychological wellbeing, followed by monetary worries.

"Anxiety about these multiple factors is massively common, and typical," adds a mental health professional.

Finding Solutions

Eventually, the students eventually adapted and built connections.

Alisha made friends via her studies and via social media, while another student became more content after being able to share accommodation with peers.

Useful Suggestions

Regarding his experience, currently in his mid-twenties and in his final year, it was engaging in performance groups and working occasionally that helped him make friends.

Robert's advice to first-year students experiencing connection challenges is to venture outside your living space and participate in group trial sessions.

"After a few weeks of regular attendance, people recognise your face," he mentions, "you become familiar with them, and you start making friends."