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College-bound seniors are using social media to find classmates, potential roommates and new social circles before ever arriving on campus. Those early connections may ease the leap from high school, but they can also undermine one of college’s defining experiences: learning to build friendships with strangers.

Prearranged groups provide a comfortable network from the start. That comfort, however, can discourage students from branching out once classes begin.

“My old friends, the people I still talk to, I met in college,” math teacher Steve Walker said. “College allows you to branch out and find people with common interests. It contains you a lot less than high school does.”

After recently getting into college, I have experienced this online networking firsthand. Hundreds of prospective roommates and friends from across the country have followed me. Instead of making college feel like a fresh start, that ready-made network can make it seem like an extension of high school.

Walker said such connections do not eliminate the need to meet people, but they may postpone it. During his freshman year, he formed many friendships through randomly assigned roommates and other students in his residence hall.

“If you box yourself in on arrival, that can delay the connections you can make,” he said.

Choosing and befriending a roommate online can create another complication. If one roommate finds it easier to socialize, the other may become overly dependent and restrict both students’ opportunities to meet new people. A random assignment can push students beyond their comfort zones and force them to form connections independently.

Social media still has practical value. Senior Lucas Kibreab said Instagram can offer insight into a prospective roommate’s hobbies, interests and personality.

“Instagram is definitely a good profile of a person,” Kibreab said. “It can tell you a lot about a person’s hobbies, their interests, and a variety of other things.”

Yet a profile can reveal only so much. Students cannot be fully understood through a single social media page, and relying too heavily on online impressions may narrow rather than enrich the college experience.

Kibreab plans to use Instagram to find someone he has not previously met. His goal is to screen for major incompatibilities without becoming too familiar before move-in day.

“I’ll use it to make sure they’re not fundamentally against my precepts, but not knowing my roommate very well is a good thing in my eyes,” he said.

For students deciding where and with whom to live, familiarity may feel safe and convenient. But arriving with every relationship already chosen can limit the friendships, independence and unexpected connections that make college transformative.