6 days ago
How to erase the misery of student loneliness
T here are many implausible things about the Netflix campus romance My Oxford Year — an American visits the dreaming spires and falls for her handsome, castle-dwelling, cancer-stricken tutor — but perhaps the most unlikely part is the way new students confidently start chatting on first meeting.
In my experience, they are more likely to stare intently at their shoes or phones in awkward silence, especially the boys.
The real story is that many feel deeply lonely during their degrees, as several polls and studies confirm. A bit of future loneliness may not seem like a big deal to parents facing the ordeal of A-level results day this week, more concerned about whether their offspring will get to university at all.
They probably assume things haven't much changed since their own time spent propping up the student bar; that eventually all but the most antisocial are bound to make friends. But in fact, quite a lot has changed — even leaving aside the negative effects of smartphones or lockdowns on burgeoning social skills.
