<p>I am an introvert, but I have a ton of friends. I don’t think my college experience would be as great as its been without them. My friends are people I can see myself inviting to my wedding. Yes, when you graduate everyone moves away, but you can always visit. Social media and email and cell phones keeps you in touch. I have a different connection with my college friends versus my friends from home. They balance eachother out- the people at school are very career oriented and studious, my friends at home are just living life. If you want to have a great social life, you need friends. How can you have fun drinking alone at a party or going to a movie alone? I think the people who say friends aren’t needed are those who have few or no friends.</p>
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Okay, probably.</p>
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People with no friends are probably not the type to go to a party. But, just because you go to a party and don’t have any friends there, does not mean that you are “alone.” I think it is perfectly possible to have fun watching a movie alone. Still, this question is silly–there’s not much point in asking someone how they can possibly have fun/not have fun doing X. Fun is subjective; it is difficult to “make” people understand your sense of fun. </p>
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Yes, very likely. Would you not say that these are the most qualified people to make such an assessment? <em>facepalm</em></p>
<p>Necessary? No. </p>
<p>Recommended? Absolutely. </p>
<p>What’s the point in going and living/studying somewhere for ~4 years if you don’t have people to share it with? JMHO.</p>
<p>O, cc nerds :rollseyes:</p>
<p>I’m an introvert, but I love having people to interact with. </p>
<p>I know for my major friends are necessary. Connections are extremely important for getting a job and the professors encourage everyone to get along and socialize. The people in my major tend to be pretty friendly so it would be hard not to make friends being surrounded by such nice people. In my major classes talking is allowed as long as the professor isn’t talking, there’s lots of group activities where we discuss each other’s projects, and we are encouraged to help our class mates and ask others for help. Last Thursday everyone had to come up with an idea, and when the teacher didn’t like someone’s idea he asked the class to start brainstorming and yelling ideas out. When none of them were good, he said let’s move on to the next person and if anyone gets an idea, tell your classmate. I made friends with someone who is way better than me at drawing, and he’s been giving me tons of tips that have been helpful. Another friend I made ran around the campus with me trying to take pictures for an assignment because I don’t have my own camera and the assignment would have been much more difficult if I didn’t have him around to model for me. Plus, making friends who are in more advanced classes has given me a heads up on what to expect and they’ve given me lots of advice in how to succeed in my current classes. </p>
<p>Maybe friends aren’t necessary in other majors, but in mine they are insanely important, helpful, and fun. I’d be miserable and clueless without the friends I’ve made.</p>
<p>I feel a small subset of friends is necessary in college. </p>
<p>I guess you could label me a extrovert. I’m not awkwardly shy and I can easily do small talk. It’s just that I don’t like it. I don’t like meeting new people (generally) or having “forced friends.” Like all these freshman social events to go to where you “hang out and meet new people,” total BS. I don’t want to try and make new friends, if it happens it happens. I’m not sure if this means I’m anti-social, because whenever I tell people I think I am anti-social and hate meeting new friends, they just laugh, but I’m just easy to converse with.</p>
<p>Honestly, I just like sticking with the old. I have a few great friends I knew previously and hang out with all the time in college. Of course, I’ve met new people in college, but I consider them “acquaintances,” even though they may consider me a “friend.” Truth is I’d go out of my way for my friends, for acquaintances, I’d ditch them in a second.</p>
<p>I second rymd…</p>
<p>It’s astonishing how many people feel they can enjoy college alone… Who do you eat with, what do you do a night it seems like it would be hella boring… Maybe thats just friendly me speaking but dang.</p>
<p>"I don’t really consider myself introverted - I can speak pretty well in front of other people, and do clubs, activities, etc, and cooperate well with others. It’s just that I’m not the type to go out partying and get drunk with friends - I don’t really have that kind of friends. "</p>
<p>Introverted doesn’t mean socially ■■■■■■■■, and it doesn’t mean shy, either. It just means that you perhaps need more alone time or prefer more solitude than someone who likes to constantly be around other people and go go go all the time. Not being the type to go out partying and getting drunk with friends doesn’t necessarily equate introversion, either, but you don’t seem to know what the word means.</p>
<p>In response to the OP, most people do need some kind of social interaction. I didn’t have friends for the two years that I was in community college, but I had a boyfriend I could visit once or twice a week and that was more than enough for me. I was in four or five different student organizations, a chair person for one of them, worked, and did volunteer work, but just didn’t click with any of those kids. This year I have some good friends and I honestly need to find a way to start seeing them less without offending them. I feel really drained if I spend too much time around other people, and seeing people three or four days a week is too much for me. Ideally, for me, I would only see people once a week or once every other week and I would spend the rest of the time alone. I am perfectly content to do everything I do by myself, and I don’t feel like I am missing out on anything. I am not shy, I have reasonably good social skills, but I am just very, very, very introverted. Most people are not like me, but some are to varying degrees. There’s nothing wrong with that as long as you aren’t leaving social needs unmet, and as long as you are polite to the people you meet and making an effort to network if that’s something you need for your profession. I do a lot of professional networking, just not a lot of social. And when I meet a potential new friend, I’m never like, “oh, I’m an introvert, so I am not going to socialize with you.” I take all the good friends I can get, I just try to limit how often I hang out with people.</p>
<p>I would be really sad if it weren’t for my friends. I think at the end of the day you do need people to just talk to, to vent all your frustrations and just let loose with. Now, I’m a huge introvert. I need long periods of time to just be by myself and think, but I still would always want at least a few friends. I think I need to spend less time with people than someone really extroverted might, but social interaction is generally a basic need of almost everyone, whether you think you need it or not.</p>
<p>And yes, just because someone is an introvert doesn’t mean they don’t like to party or drink or whatever, because I do enjoy those things and I am pretty introverted.</p>
<p>I think college would be a very sad experience without having any friends.</p>
<p>How is being insane not surviving?</p>
<p>I agree with Emaheevul07, just because you’re introverted doesn’t mean you’re socially ■■■■■■■■ and don’t like to go out.</p>
<p>I’m introverted and I LOOOVE going out and getting tipsy/drunk… I love hanging out with my friends, but I also love hang out with myself too.
I hang out with my college friends about three/four times a week… and that’s probably all I can handle… My Best Friends from home, I hang out with them almost everyday when I home… but they’re like family so I don’t really get tired of them.
Like I said in a previous post, humans are social beings. Being alone for long periods of time is not mentally healthy</p>
<p>There was an interesting study recently (sorry, don’t have a link) where college students’ facebook pages were followed and observed throughout the year. Those who had more wall post and friends actually had higher grades than those who’s pages didn’t have much activity. </p>
<p>Perhaps it’s simply having friends that makes you more excited about school and thus translates into your excitement about your academics. Because if you fail out, you’d be losing contact with all those awesome people. But if you have no friends and drop out, who’s gona care? Certainly not you.</p>
<p>When you have a bunch of friends with likeminded goals, it helps keep you on track. If you’re reserved and on your own, odds are that if you start slipping, you’re still on your own.</p>
<p>Only on cc…</p>
<p>Going off what max said, it’s not neccessarily to keep you on track, but a few good friends are a great support system. Maybe you can’t trust your family. Maybe the thing you need help with is your family. When you’re at college, especially if you dorm your friends become a surrogate family.
It doesn’t matter how introverted you are, it’s nice to have someone who will come looking for you in a relatively timely fashion if you’re murdered in your dorm room.</p>
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No… it’s nice to not be murdered in your dorm room.</p>
<p>I have 3 close friends and 3 brothers who are my best and most trusted allies.</p>
<p>"it’s nice to have someone who will come looking for you in a relatively timely fashion if you’re murdered in your dorm room. "</p>
<p>now if only dorm rooms didn’t blow, then I’d be willing to try and get on-campus housing next year</p>
<p>Same applies if you substitute murdered for fall off of something and break your neck and dorm room for apartment.</p>
<p>^Are you trying to say that you would have a higher chance of recieving medical care in time and overcoming your injuries if you had friends? Because that is patently false.</p>
<p>If, hypothetically, a rabid family of bears were to invade your dormitory and you had to barricade yourself in your room, the scenario exists that you could eat your friends if worse came to worse. If you were by yourself, you would probably starve to death before help could reach you in time.</p>