How to Make Friends in Online School

Co-authored by Jessica George, MA, CHt and Hunter Rising

Last Updated: March 28, 2022 References

If you're enrolled in online college classes and living off-campus, how can you connect with your classmates and form strong friendships? Making new friends is one of the best parts of college, and you can still easily bond with other students even if you're completely remote. Keep reading for everything you need to know about starting a lasting friendship in the virtual classroom!

1

Participate during live lectures.

Your classmates will get to know you better if you speak up. Rather than sitting back and staying quiet, try to get involved with the coursework and be active during lectures. Try to answer your professor’s questions, bounce off of other students’ ideas, and make your voice heard. You’ll feel a lot more personable and your classmates may reach out to chat with you.^{[1]
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- Participation also shows that you’re a good student, so people might want to pair with you for group work too.
- If you’re in a Zoom classroom, try leading the discussion if you need to go into a breakout room.

2

Introduce yourself.

Break the ice right away to show other people you’re friendly. As soon as you have access to your online classes, look for a discussion board or post where you can make introductions. If you don’t have a discussion board, you can always introduce yourself in the chat over Zoom when there’s an online lecture or when you’re in a breakout room.^{[2]
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- “Hey everyone! I’m Alex and I’m so excited to be taking this class! Can’t wait to meet you all!”
- “Hi! My name is Tess, and I’m majoring in psychology! Hope everyone is having a great day!”
- “Hey, I’m Robert! I’m a film major and I love shooting short videos in my free time. Good luck in class everyone!”
- Other people are probably just as nervous to make new friends as you are, so taking the lead might make them open up more.

3

Respond to discussion board posts.

Keep the discussions going so you can chat with your classmates. Your online class probably has online boards where you can discuss lectures and talk about your assignments. When you see someone in your class make a post, make a point to reply. You could bounce an idea off of theirs or let them know that you agree with their point.^{[3]
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- “That’s a great point, Jane! I never considered that as a theme in the text, and you really opened my eyes!”
- Being active on class discussion boards is usually part of your grade too, so it’s important to make posts and reply.

4

Reach out to classmates about coursework.

Starting a conversation is easier if it’s about your classes. If you’re worried about messaging a potential new friend out of the blue, see if they can help you out with an assignment. Use your school’s online portal to find another classmate you want to be friends with and send them a message or email. That way, you have something in common to talk about right away.^{[4]
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- “Hey Lacy, This is John from English. I thought your last post on the discussion board was so insightful, and this new assignment is confusing me a bit. Do you have any advice on how to answer these questions? Thanks!”

5

Form an online study group.

You can get to know each other and improve your grade at the same time. If there are a few people you want to be friends with in the same class, shoot them an email or group message asking if they want to study together. You could all hop on a video chat and go over your assignments and get to know each other a little better.^{[5]
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- “Hey everyone! I know there’s an exam coming up next week, so would anyone want to start a study group? We can chat about the assignments and work on some practice problems together. Let me know if you’re interested and what times work best for you!”
- If you’re taking an online class but are still on campus, you could even meet up in a common area to study.

6

Join a virtual student club.

Student organizations let you meet people with the same interests as you. Look on your school’s website to see if they have any hobby clubs or student groups you’d enjoy. Even if something sounds a little bit interesting, check it out and give it a chance to see if there’s anyone there that you want to be friends with.^{[6]
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- If you don’t find a club that you want to join, you can always start one of your own.
- You could also check on social apps like Meetup to find hobby groups in your area.

7

Add your classmates on social media.

You can chat and learn more about each other outside of the virtual classroom. When you see a student that you want to be friends with, try finding them on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter and adding them. Look through their profiles so you get to know the person better to see if you think they would make a good friend.^{[7]
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- Ask other students in your class if they have a group message on GroupMe or WhatsApp where they talk about schoolwork outside of class.

8

Send PMs for casual conversation.

Ask questions to learn more about the people you want to be friends with. If you want to get to know a classmate better, try asking how they’re doing in a message through the class portal, on social media, or over email. Try to use open-ended questions that can’t be answered with one word so you keep the conversation going.^{[8]
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- “Hey there! How have the assignments been treating you this week?”
- “Hi! It’s Lauren from calculus. How was your weekend?”
- “Ugh, class is stressing me out! What do you like to do in your free time to help unwind?”

9

Enjoy a meal over video chat together.

A casual call over coffee is great for building your connection. If you want to hang out with someone one-on-one, ask if they want to go on Zoom or FaceTime to chat face to face. Just sipping on drinks or eating lunch together over a video call can help you form a bond and feel more connected with the person.^{[9]
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- “Hey, I really like what you have to say in class and was wondering if you wanted to hang out on a video call later? We could have a coffee and just chat. Let me know if you’re free!”
- “Hey, do you like tacos? I found this new recipe and I thought it would be fun if we could hop on a video call and both cook while we chat. What do you think?”

10

Host a virtual game or movie night.

Bonding over a fun activity can really strengthen a friendship. Even if you can’t all be in the same place, you can have a good time with each other. Find a time when you and a few other people can hop on a video call so you can have fun together. Once you all agree on an activity, just be yourself and try to have fun so everyone has a good time.^{[10]
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- Try playing a board game online, like Codenames or Scattergories.
- Have someone share their screen so you can all watch your favorite movie that’s streaming.
- Ask everyone to make a goofy slideshow and take turns presenting to one another.

11

Hang out in person if you live nearby.

Try meeting up so you can spend time together off your computer. If you live in the same town as the campus, you could hang out in one of the common areas, like the library or student center if you want an easy spot to meet up. Otherwise, ask if anyone in your class lives close to you. If you find someone, suggest a fun activity, like going out to a cafe, taking a walk together, or going bowling.^{[11]
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- If you live near the campus, check for any school-sponsored events that you can attend together.

Community Q&A

Question

Is it possible to make friends outside your country as well?

WikiVY

Community Answer

Definitely! Many people make friends online who belong to different countries. However, they become close friends when they get to know each other. If you think you have met well-intentioned and true folks online and feel happy about becoming their friend, you can chat, exchange emails, and share about less personal things. Online communities, volunteer communities, groups with specific mission etc. are great places to find genuine people who can become friends in the longer run.
Question

What if you're too shy to ask your class to do it, or you're not sue if you're parents would even allow it (I am in the 7th grade)?

WikiVY

Community Answer

You don't have to ask your class to change how they take classes. You can make friends online with your parent's permission by meeting people who are selfless or are working hard. For example, if you join an online organization or community that is working towards a social cause, you will be able to see their work, and gain friendship with them. Most opportunities like these require participants to be over 13. You can look up UNICEF, UN, wikiHow, and other organizations and companies that are famous and have policies against bullying, so you are safe and talk to people online safely.