Preliminary Survey

To find out more about how NUS students perceive, form, and sustain their friendships in university, we sent out online surveys and gathered about 36 responses.

Here are our top findings.

1. People want to make friends.
But making friends is hard.

Meeting new friends in university can be exciting and interesting.

When asked about their feelings and experiences regarding making friends in universities, words and phrases of positive valence appeared 13 times, from 11 out of 36 responses. Most are associated with the excitement over meeting new friends from more diverse backgrounds, as well as the higher chances of meeting like-minded peers.

However, making friends is also not easy. words and phrases of negative valence also appeared 31 times, from 23 out of 36 responses.

What are your experiences and feelings when it comes to making friends in university?

2. COVID-19 made it harder

How would you prefer to meet new friends?

When asked about their feelings and experiences regarding making friends in universities, words and phrases related to COVID-19 and the lack of physical interaction appeared 11 times.

YET, When asked about how they would prefer to make new friends, 90.3% are most comfortable with meeting physically.

3. Top 3 challenges in making friends in universities (aside from COVID-19):

What are the biggest challenge you face in making new friends in university?

#1 Lack of opportunities

Many found it hard to meet new friends, especially if they do not stay on campus or join CCAs. Within faculties, students also find that there is limited opportunities to make friends, aside from doing projects together.

A number of respondents also mentioned difficulties in meeting friends with mutual interests.

#2 Lack of time
Finding time and making the effort to meet new friends or sustain existing friendships is another clear obstacle, especially while juggling one’s studies.

#3 Difficulties in establishing deeper connections
Many find it difficult to sustain interactions. Some attribute this to the reason above (i.e. lack of time), while others are afraid of reaching out to keep in touch.

Many also struggle with having meaningful conversations that help them understand others on a deeper level and build a level of trust that motivates them to sustain the interaction.

4. We love meeting friends over
food and shared interests

Eating and chatting are extremely popular activities that people would do with their current friends or new friends.

The next most popular activities are more interest-based activities such as sports, board games, and art-related activities.

Interestingly, studying is also a popular activity (fortunately or unfortunately).

5. Meeting in small cliques is the most comfortable way of meeting new friends!

When asked about preferences in meeting new friends, an overwhelmingly popular option is meeting people in small cliques of 3-5 people physically, regardless of age, gender, or personality type.

The next most popular option was meeting one-on-one physically.

How would you prefer to meet new friends?

IN SUMMARY...

Making friends in university can be exciting, but most find it difficult.
Environmental factors and psychological factors are key obstacles in making friends.
- Environmental: The pandemic as well as a greater separation between our studies (e.g. attending classes) and our social life (i.e. making friends) made it harder to initiate and sustain friendships.
- Psychological: We are not used to putting in additional efforts to make new friends.
Shared interests, common topics, and frequent interactions are crucial to kickstarting conversations and building deeper connections.
When imagining a scenario where they meet new friends, students tend to prefer to meeting physically, and the desired group size is a small clique of 3-5.