From The Conversation · Justin Vaughn · · 1m 50s
How to teach lonely college students to make friends
A professor designed a course that helps students recognize friendship builds through small, ordinary moments.
In brief
A professor designed a course that helps students recognize friendship builds through small, ordinary moments. Friendships form through repeated small interactions that accumulate into shared trust and history over time. Originally reported by The Conversation.
College loneliness is widespread
Nearly 6 in 10 college students reported feeling lonely sometimes or always in a 2026 survey. Meanwhile, in-person socializing among all Americans dropped from 38% in 2015 to 30% in 2025.
“Nearly 6 in 10 said they felt lonely sometimes or always.”
Students struggle to connect
Many college students want close relationships but feel anxious about starting them and lack practice sustaining them. They often go entire semesters without learning classmates' names.
A friendship course was born
A political science professor created a freshman honors seminar called Friendship and Society that combines academic study of friendship with practical exercises in forming and sustaining relationships.
Students learn the science
The course teaches how positive social interactions activate the brain's reward system while isolation triggers stress. Students read memoirs, neuroscience books, and research on how friendships shape identity, health, and community belonging.
Practical friendship exercises
Students complete ten friendship practices including sharing meals, visiting public spaces, conducting friendship safaris across campus, and making films about campus friendships. They journal about what they expected versus what actually happened.
Small moments build trust
Students learn that friendships develop from countless ordinary moments that feel meaningless individually. An unremarkable meal or brief conversation accumulates into relational capital, the shared trust and history friends draw on during difficult times.
“A friendship is built from countless moments that may feel meaningless while they are happening.”
Communities strengthen together
When people accumulate enough ordinary shared experiences, they develop trust and keep showing up for each other. This relational capital extends beyond individual friendships to strengthen entire communities.
Students gain practical skills
By course end, students can start conversations, identify public spaces that encourage connection, and recognize habits that deepen relationships. They understand how their choices shape the communities forming around them.
The takeaway
Friendships form through repeated small interactions that accumulate into shared trust and history over time.
