Q: I friended almost everyone in the Penn 2016 group. Is this going to be an advantage when I get to Penn? Or did I just commit social suicide?
A: It’s OK, you little eager beaver you! You did not necessarily just commit social suicide. You did, however, earn yourself the reputation as “that kid” – the one that everyone knows from Facebook but no one actually knows in real life. Congratulations! There is celebrity in this that could potentially last you the rest of your time at Penn.
Don’t worry though – we get it. You’re anxious and excited to make friends and learn about the people with whom you will be living, studying, partying and everything else in between for the next three years. And in due time, meet them you will.
You’ll soon learn that NSO is the ideal breeding ground for in-person friendships and relationships of every variety, and Facebook is best used after the fact as a tool to gather supplementary information beyond your new friend’s name and hometown (the important stuff: their relationship status, hobbies and interests, how they look in a bathing suit, etc.). But as long as you refrain from using their dog’s name in conversation or asking how their family vacation in Aruba was this summer until you get to know them a little better, most likely your reputation as “that kid” is going to fade as soon as your friend request is buried beneath the slew of 300 other friend requests your peers will receive during NSO.
See our answers to more of your questions here.
