Feb. 25, 2026 | Hannah Field | Editor-in-Chief
The male loneliness epidemic, parasocial relationships, social media, dating — being a college student at this time is a cultural complexity. In a world of screens and partner priorities, growing and maintaining lifelong friendships is difficult.
A Trellis Strategies report indicated this month that around 57% of students in college report loneliness and a lack of a flourishing social life, despite being surrounded by likeminded people close in age. Queer students came out on top in the study, with 74% identifying as being sometimes or always lonely.
The National Library of Medicine conducted a study in 2022 that found widespread loneliness in the college students it evaluated. It even reported that college students are more likely to face loneliness, and that students struggle with the transition from high school to university, as well as the loss of friends following the shift and the need to replace them.
Unfortunately, common reports of loneliness are associated with larger mental health problems, such as depression and suicidal ideation, and, without support, those students may receive lower grades, fail classes, leave school altogether or worse.
I don’t personally have a best friend. That’s been hard for me, not having one person like everyone else to hold onto, talk to and laugh with. But I do have some people, lesser-level friends from classes I was required to take, people I was forced into closed spaces with for long enough that we identified common threads. That’s all friendships really are: proximity and linked interests.
There are 8 billion people on the planet, 18 to 19 million people in college in America and Western has more than 3,000 undergraduate students. So why does it seem like I relate to more people on this topic rather than less? Shouldn’t we all have close ties to people, online friends, someone to call whenever we want? Instead, it’s partners, siblings, parents — but what if those aren’t options?
We can’t simply wish to fruition a great circle of friends or a best buddy. Instead, we have to try and fail — as many times as it may take. We have to go out of our way to make connections, and know that when they fade or dissipate, we shouldn’t use that as evidence that we are unlovable or unable to make meaningful relationships. Everyone’s lovable and capable of friendship. We’re just also victims of the cruelness of life, the push and pull of relationships and the conditional nature of friendships.
So, if you can find someone whom you are able to access and who you relate to, there you go: a potential friend. Be kind to yourself, be kind to others. And if you do feel lonely, please reach out for help.
Contact the author at howleditorinchief@wou.edu
