Doing random selection for finding a roommate is not everyone’s cup of tea. Now, with the help of social media, it is easier to find people who are similar to you when looking for a potential roommate. Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter are all places that can help in the process of finding a roomie. However, almost all universities and colleges have a Facebook page for incoming freshman to help find friends! The Facebook page is made by the university for that year’s freshman class and allows people to post a short biography about themselves and share some pictures of activities they are involved in, as well as other interesting aspects of their lives. This helps people to find others with similar interests to them.
Another benefit to finding a roommate online is being able to communicate about the items you will need for the dorm, as well as your style. Nowadays, roommates chat ahead of time so both sides of the room match or color coordinate. With going random and not being able to talk before move-in day, it is hard to coordinate your room plans and compare living habits.
We took a poll on Instagram to see what percentage of people took to social media to find their roommates versus people who went random. We found that 83 percent of people used social media to find roomies, whereas only 17 percent of people went random. We decided to get student’s feedback regarding their experiences.
Lucy Curran, a freshman here at SJU said, “I really looked for similar qualities that I see in myself, in other girls. I tried to find the vibe that I would want to attract by the way they wrote and their pictures from the Facebook class page.” She told me that she liked how social media gave her many platforms to get to know a person before deciding to room with them.
Another freshman, Juliana Magriples, went completely random in the roommate searching process. She says, “I decided to go random because I was frustrated by the whole process of trying to find a roommate through the Facebook page because it didn’t really feel like I’d be able to fully know someone through that. I kept an open mind going random, but my roommate and I don’t really click in the way that I’d hoped we would.”
Finding a roommate can be a long process, no matter which way you go through it. Social media can help or hinder the process.. On one hand, the use of social media enables people to reach out and to get to know others similar to them, however the way a person portrays themselves online can be very different than how they are in person. This makes it hard to truly find “the perfect roomie”. In some situations, you might end up with someone you don’t click with but in most cases, the use of social media can help the roommate process go smoothly.
