Is it normal to have only about 1 hour of human contact at all 5 days a week?

I am a university student who lives on campus and is very shy. Because I'm trying to get much better at managing my time, most of my unstructured time is spent trying to get my studies under control - it becomes my #1 priority. I also run, go to the gym, and play guitar, because I need to de-compress.

I have two close friends on campus that I sometimes get lunch/dinner with. I also go home on weekends, where I get to see my mom. Otherwise, most of the socializing I get comes from interacting with cashiers/clerks when I go shopping.

Should I be trying to socialize a lot more? I know that college can be busy and that people often prioritize their studies above all else.

Voting Results
55% Normal
Based on 11 votes (6 yes)
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Comments ( 10 )
  • JellyBeanBandit

    If you think you can fit in some socialising without it affecting your studies then yes. Otherwise, I don't know, it depends how badly it's affecting you.

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  • paramore93

    University is first and foremost to learn and get qualifications for your future. If you're happy with your friends and life at the moment then I wouldn't change anything.
    Keep going with your studies and by the time you've graduated and got your life on track you may have more friends than you expected.
    I've always had a small group of really good friends and don't feel the need to socialize with anybody else.

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  • nikkiclaire

    Yes it is normal. No worries 😊

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  • Take a break from going home on weekends and get with the social scene. I lived for Friday night parties on campus, a Saturday pickup game on the quad, and lazy Sunday afternoons to veg and hit the books. It’s a good way to meet ppl, form study groups, and enjoy campus life beyond M-F.

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  • I am a university student in a somehow similar situation. My social life is non-existent at all. I focus all the time on studying. I have no other occupations, no gym, no hobbies no nothing, apart from a bit of writing on this website while I'm taking a break. I never stepped into a club since I started my programme. People invited me to short trips or going out, I always reject them. Only studying and working on campus 5 hours a week to improve my career prospects. I don't even go to classes because I found that travelling to uni and back wastes precious time I need to study so I watch the recordings instead. I tend to calculate hours even minutes, and I save them to study as much as I can. I usually study at night and go to sleep in the morning, since I found this more effective due to the minimal interactions and distractions. Around 12-14 hours a day. I don't talk to my flatmates at all, I am always silent while they chat or whatever, because if I engage in this, I might be tempted to go out or spend more time than I should with them, and usually I count my time in the kitchen and I try to cook as fast as possible. I have almost no human interaction. I really want a 2:1 and I need to work as hard as I can for it. I think it's not normal, which technically means that most students don't do it, but I don't care about this. Not sure how other people were at uni, but here it is very hard to get a 60-70%. I made my decision and I will not change it. People recommended me going out or shit, but that's what they think it's good, not what I would find good. You will notice that people usually say "go out have fun, I did it and I liked it" which reveals immediately that this principle actually applies to them, not to you. You are a different person with different interests, therefore different behaviour. I would say technically not normal but I wouldn't worry about this, since normality doesn't bring you success in HE. To unsuccessfully attempt to respond to your last question, nobody can tell you what you should do apart from you. Just because other people do something it doesn't mean you "should" or that you'd enjoy it. Only you can tell what you should do and what you feel like doing. Trying to do what others do doesn't work and it's a waste of time. You can be normal and average, or abnormal and excellent. Your choice. I made mine. Now I need to return to Statistical Modelling. Bye bye.

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    • Ellenna

      Your post is unreadable: have you never heard of paragraphs?

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      • Have you ever read books?

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        • Ellenna

          Yeah, I've been reading books for more than 60 years but I wouldn't read one without paragraphs

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          • Then you probably know that most books have 2-3 paragraphs per page, not 2-3 sentences each, unless it's a children's book.

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            • Ellenna

              But that post is one long paragraph!

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