You’re surrounded by people, and everyone on social media is having the time of their life–but you’re feeling incredibly lonely on your college campus. What gives? Despite how it may seem, you’re not alone in feeling lonely on a college campus: far from it, in fact. A 2020 nationwide survey of nearly 33,000 college students conducted by Boston University revealed that two-thirds of students struggle with loneliness. Loneliness on college campuses is an issue that has continually worsened since the early 1990s due to factors including social media, living away from home for the first time, pre-existing mental health conditions, and the continued impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Here are some ideas for combatting campus loneliness and for accepting loneliness when it does strike:

Keep busy: College is full of events and opportunities, from extracurriculars to classes and everything in between. Keeping busy can not only distract you from any feelings of isolation, but it can also be a great way to meet new and different people.
Challenge your comfort zone: It can be helpful to put yourself out there, as uncomfortable as that may be (especially if you’re an introvert!). Try getting involved in activities or clubs you’re passionate about, where you are likely to meet people with similar interests. Or, join a club or take up a sport that you never thought you would. You can find friendships and connections in unexpected places.
Disengage from social media: If you find yourself both feeling especially lonely and spending a lot of time on your phone, it’s likely due to the content you’re consuming online. Using social media instead of partaking in real-life social interactions and believing everything you see online to be true (i.e., that everyone has instantly found a massive circle of friends at school) can be detrimental to both your mental and physical health. A 2017 study, for example, found that participants who spent the most time online reported feeling three times as isolated as participants who spent less time online.
Stay in touch: If you’ve gone far away for college, keeping in touch with friends and family or visiting can go a long way in helping you feel less alone. Often, students feel lonely at college because they miss the close relationships they had in high school or their hometown and don’t necessarily realize that those relationships take time and energy to build.
Realize you’re not alone: This one may be the most difficult to accept, but it is very true. College freshmen, who are usually living away from home for the first time, are particularly susceptible to loneliness. Recognizing that this is a shared emotion, or even breaking the “stigma” to talk about it with those around you, could go a long way.