One university attendee passed the majority of his freshers' week looking at social media, seeing content about peers enjoying evenings out.
"I was just in bed," Robert explains, characterizing that period as the most solitary phase of his life.
His housemates seldom socialized, and his studies didn't appear particularly social.
Despite putting himself out there by going to taster sessions for various societies, he didn't discover his people.
"I started to lose my self-esteem," he says. "I believed people didn't want to be friends with me, or they didn't like me."
Originally, Robert didn't plan of attending college and had a job offer for following college.
But then he watched his acquaintances enjoying themselves as students on Instagram.
"When you need to wake up for employment on weekdays at the morning hour and you see someone's been out on Wednesday night, you begin believing others have it better," Robert explains.
Television programs and online platforms can glorify the idea of university living.
Many individuals arrive at college with high expectations for what they believe could be the most wonderful time of their lives.
Various learners come to university with "rose-tinted glasses," notes a support services coordinator.
Another student's TikTok feed was filled with content of peers socializing while living together in university housing.
But when she relocated from London to Sheffield to pursue media studies, she found freshers' week "intense" because of how much alcohol it involved.
Alisha doesn't drink and had never been clubbing before.
"I actually passed much of orientation inside my accommodation," she says. "I just felt somewhat isolated."
According to recent research of numerous undergraduate students, 29% said they had considered leaving university.
The primary factor was their mental and emotional health, followed by financial concerns.
"Worry regarding these multiple factors is very widespread, and typical," explains a mental health professional.
With time, all three individuals all found their feet and built connections.
She formed relationships via her studies and via social media, while the individual experienced improvement after being able to share accommodation with peers.
Regarding his experience, currently in his mid-twenties and in his final year, it was participating in theater activities and employment during studies that supported social connection.
Robert's advice to beginning learners finding social interaction difficult is to venture outside your living space and participate in group trial sessions.
"Subsequent to periods of consistently showing up, individuals become familiar with you," Robert says, "you become familiar with them, and you start making friends."
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