Finding Friendships Online When School Feels Isolating
We’re all working toward the same goal of graduating, but that journey can get lonely sometimes. Between deadlines, papers, and late-night study sessions, it’s easy to feel disconnected. Being an online student can feel like being on an island. We miss the on-campus energy, spontaneous conversations, and the buzz of student life. Translating that energy is different online, mainly because of autonomous class schedules and online flexibility. This doesn’t mean we’re missing out, but our community spaces are a bit different. They exist online, and it’s important to join this community space by making friendships.
Why Make Online Friends?
Friendships are essential, even in digital spaces. For many, the internet has become the new town square. It’s where people share ideas, play games, collaborate, and simply talk. Online friendships don’t replace your “day ones”, they’re about building connections in the spaces where you now spend your time. As your environment shifts, your community can grow with it.
What’s unique about online friendships is how they allow trust and closeness to form at a comfortable pace. For someone who’s more reserved or socially anxious, it can feel easier to express themselves behind a screen. There’s a layer of privacy that can make conversations more open and honest. Over time, these digital bonds can feel just as real as those you have in person.
Social connections have been integrated into our everyday lives with social media, whether it was Myspace, Facebook, or Reddit. There are established places to connect with like-minded people where the barrier of accessibility is removed. Millennials, Zillennials, Gen Z ,and younger are all acclimated to some form of an online space so why not apply the same interest to building your own sense of belonging instead of just following and scrolling?
The Benefits of Friendship
Friendship, in any form, supports emotional well-being. Having someone who understands your experience as both a student and an adult juggling work, family, and school makes a difference. Sometimes you don’t even realize how stressed or isolated you feel until you talk to someone going through the same thing. There’s comfort in knowing you’re not alone.
At CUNY SPS, students are finding creative ways to connect. Clubs and organizations host monthly meetings, virtual hangouts, and community events like Friendsgiving, Palentine’s Day, or Diwali celebrations. These spaces offer more than social interaction; they’re a reminder that shared experiences can strengthen your sense of belonging.
When you connect with others who understand your challenges, it’s easier to stay motivated. Friendships can help reduce burnout, encourage self-care, and provide that extra push when school or life feels overwhelming.
When You Don’t Connect
The absence of connection can take a toll. In 2023, U.S. surgeon general Vivek Murthy released “Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation“ warning that social disconnection poses serious risks to mental and physical health. People spend more time online but interact less meaningfully. The irony is that the same technology that isolates us can also help us find each other.
Feeling isolated can heighten stress and make it harder to handle daily challenges. Without regular conversations, inside jokes, or someone to offer perspective, the smallest problems can start to feel heavier. Talking to someone or sharing with your digital friends can ease that weight.
Joining an online group, class chat, or student club can help you break that cycle. College is already a shared experience filled with similar struggles and small victories. Finding people who understand what you’re going through helps you feel heard, supported, and part of something bigger than yourself.
Showing Up Matters
Building friendships online requires consistency, a little organization, and willingness to want to get to know people and care for them. Showing up is key and this tells people you care even when life is busy or your discussion board is due. The benefit to online friendships is that there is little travel so even a few minutes can make a difference. Friendships don’t happen overnight; they’re built through small efforts that add up. Reach out. Attend a virtual event. Introduce yourself in a club chat. You might be surprised by how many people feel the same way you do.
