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

"I remained in my room," Robert remembers, describing the week as the loneliest time of his life.

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

Although he tried by going to taster sessions for various societies, he couldn't find people he connected with.

"I began losing my self-esteem," he says. "I believed people didn't want to become my friends, or they didn't appreciate me."

Online Network Judgments

At first, Robert wasn't considering of going to university and received employment offers for following college.

Yet he observed his peers living it up as students on Instagram.

"When you must rise for employment on weekdays at 9:00 and you see someone's been out on Wednesday night, you start feeling others have it better," Robert says.

College Anticipations

Television programs and online platforms can glorify the idea of university living.

Lots of people begin university with strong assumptions for what they think could be the most wonderful time of their lives.

Various learners come to university with "idealistic views," says a support services coordinator.

Research Results

• Through surveys of first-year attendees early on, students' biggest concern was finding their place and feeling included
• Additional research conducted by analysts, 17% of students said they had no friends at university
• 37% said they felt anxious regularly about building relationships

Personal Experiences

Alisha Miah's social media content was full of videos of students enjoying themselves while living together in college residences.

However when she transferred from London to Sheffield to study journalism, she found freshers' week "intense" because of how much alcohol it involved.

She avoids drinking and had avoided party scenes before.

"I actually passed a lot of freshers' week within my living space," she says. "I just felt slightly disconnected."

Mental Health Considerations

According to recent research of more than 10,000 college learners, a significant portion mentioned they had considered leaving university.

The main cause was psychological wellbeing, followed by monetary worries.

"Anxiety about these various aspects is massively common, and normal," adds a mental health professional.

Discovering Answers

With time, the students all found their feet and developed friendships.

Alisha made friends via her studies and via social media, while the individual experienced improvement after being able to relocate with companions.

Useful Suggestions

For Robert, presently older and in his final year, it was engaging in performance groups and employment during studies that helped him make friends.

Robert's advice to beginning learners experiencing connection challenges is to just "get out of your room" and go to club and society taster events.

"Subsequent to periods of regular attendance, people recognise your face," Robert says, "you notice their presence, and friendships begin forming."