Since the college roommate search has gone social, I feel the need to remind everyone of the dangers that can come along with this. Sure, there are many benefits that can come from this option which you can read about in a previous Hawkchill article, but not everyone finds that their best friend is their freshman year roommate that they met online.
Hi, my name’s Natalie and I got catfished. Like most other incoming freshmen I took to Facebook to find my roomie who I thought was going to be my college best friend. All during the summer before my first year of college me and my roommate talked all the time and thought we had so much in common. I was super excited to start the year with a friend to do things with so I wouldn’t be alone, and I was sure I found the perfect friend to do this with. On Facebook.
Living with a person is a whole new level of social interaction that makes it so hard to find someone that is completely compatible with you, and facebook and social media in general makes it very easy to present the very best version of yourself which obviously won’t always line up with who you actually are in day to day life.
We had discussions online about how I would like to go out with friends and experience the college social life and how she would too, but when it came down to it she clearly was not about that. Now, this wouldn’t have been a problem if she didn’t openly shame me and make me feel bad for enjoying my first year at college. I distinctly remember asking her to come out with me and she shot back “I’m here to get an education, not to party,” and went right back to her computer and didn’t say another word. Other stuff happened too, like finding out she would talk about me to her other friends behind my back, but the bottom line is that in person we simply did not click, but over text we did.
If you’re reading this and are living through the same thing as I did, you aren’t alone. My current roommate and best friend now was also catfished over facebook freshman year by a girl who she thought she was going to be great friends with. It turned out she had horrible hygiene and a multitude of other problems that really only become visible when you physically have to live with someone.
This article isn’t here to discourage an online roommate hunt, as I know many people find a great roommate this way. It is here as a reminder that things don’t always work out the way you want them too and social media can be deceiving. If you are stuck with a bad roomie, you are able to get a roommate change, and if you don’t want to do that, in the grand scheme of things it is only two semesters of your life and you will get through it as I did. If you decide to use social media to find your roommate, good luck! Stay vigilant and try to meet up with them in person if you can before sealing the deal.
