r/OpenUniversity • u/filmmakingjedi • 1d ago
Study Buddies group !!
Sooo many people replied to my ost looking for friends and study buddies and honestly im quite blown away!
Im thinking of making a discord server for people looking for friends and buddies to study with! Preferably under 30s so everyone is similar age.
If you are interested, please dm me your discord username or comment it below and ill send you the link once its up and running!
Edit: this seems to have been taken the wrong way. Ill probably delete this post soon because people obviously havent seen my previous post
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u/PossibleExplorer1076 1d ago
There are loads of OU discords already. Try this hub https://discord.com/invite/2zFDYNMZTU
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u/SeacUaine BA Design & Innovation 23h ago
Second this. This hub should probably be pinned somewhere in the sub tbh.
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u/StargazerSol12 1d ago
Question, why does the heck there have to be a under 30s discord groups???? You know that OU is varied in age range and we all still are learning something new.
This reads as a age discrimination proposal for a study group.
How disappointing
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u/Rainime 22h ago
Question, why do you care? There are DOZENS of OU groups that aren't limited anything. Not everything has to be for everyone. Some people start OU at 18-19 and maybe they're more comfortable making friends with similar aged people. It doesn't mean they're not interacting with older students at all, but even if they weren't it would be their choice and no one else's business. It can be overwhelming just entering adulthood and trying to make adult friends for the first time, but half your peers are older than your parents. There's nothing wrong with a young student group. Do you complain that the disabled students group or the racial minorities group or the LGBTQ group, all official OU groups, are discriminatory too?
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u/MemoryEmbarrassed166 17h ago
Interestingly, and evidently, many mature students have decided to pursue their studies at the Open University after suffering age-discrimination in the job-market, this sort of discrimination could go as far as being flat out denied jobs, so think about the kind of message having an under 30s group could potentially send to them ???
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u/filmmakingjedi 1d ago
Because i am autistic and personally struggle with making friends as it is, and am more likely to make meaningful friendships with people my own age. Not discrimination at all, there are already OU groups for people older than that. It's just what i feel comfortable with.
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u/Disastrous-Tower-794 1d ago
No there aren't specific groups of older people at the Ou. Every what's app group I've been in since I started with the Ou has had a wide range of ages.
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u/filmmakingjedi 1d ago
I have seen many facebook groups specifically for older ou students. There is also an official ou group for under 25s :)
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u/Disastrous-Tower-794 1d ago
I haven't and I've been with the ou 4 years.
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u/filmmakingjedi 1d ago
Might be worth taking a look
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u/Disastrous-Tower-794 1d ago edited 22h ago
There's a huge ou FB group and another smaller one but the smaller one ended up full of spammers and I left it. I'm not really bothered about finding a group for my age -as you said studying online can be isolating and I particularly felt that last year. Edited to say can't be bothered with the constant down voting. It's amazing how people get called liars for sharing their own experience
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u/Glittering-Maybe-442 18h ago edited 18h ago
I don’t think people are downvoting you believing you’ve lied as it could definitely be your personal experience, but equally, may not be their own.
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u/StargazerSol12 1d ago
Hm, that's actually fair and related to your response under, I have seen various groups that does states specific age as well, for older usually. So we can't have it two ways ha 😅.
Hmm. I don't know how OU would view this through for having older only groups and younger only groups of discord, it just seems drifting off the intentions of having a study group. Maybe what could happen is join the specific subject discord and work with the admin to create a specific channel for under 30s group which enables folks to have one place for all topics, while being able to chat with folks in your age range preferences?
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u/filmmakingjedi 1d ago
I kind of just wanted a close group of friends to study with and get to know. Ou can be lonely and hard to make friends, and some of us need friends. I didnt realise doing this would be so controversial 😭
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u/SuspishSesh 10h ago
I've been on one of the study discords since 2020 when I started my degree! But it's gone super quiet 🥲 an over 30s one would be great if there is one already that someone can share a link 🤍 but there are quite a few already for the under 30s if you check on the study forums for your module 😁
Just started my masters and need some people to supervise my frequent breakdowns 😂 so definitely worth it lol
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u/Ok_Let_8775 1d ago
I understand the instinct to keep it to a similar age, but I think it's a mistake as a 'policy'. At the OU, you have the benefit of having peers at different life stages and with varied experiences that can only strengthen a study group.
I was part of a group with people just out of school up to retirement, made up of different cultures and backgrounds, and it was great. Older students tend to be very supportive and encouraging. And shocking revelation: they are also fun! :)
But it's your group. We're all free to gather together in the way that works best for us.
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u/filmmakingjedi 1d ago
I know this and have met lots of lovely older people at the ou! However im autistic and my main aim is to make meaningful friendships with the people i study with. Im autistic and find friendships hard at the best of times, and feel uncomfortable being friends with people much older than me. It's just what im comfortable with.
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u/di9girl 23h ago
The people you study with are going to range in age, probably from around 18 to 80+. Are you going to ignore them if you're put into a group situation for an assessment because they aren't your age?
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u/filmmakingjedi 23h ago
Not at all! Been with the ou for two years now and have spoken to and worked with lots of people older than me. That doesnt mean im making meaningful friendships with them and want to talk outside of university :)
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u/ScaryStudent3864 1d ago
I did see your previous post. You're not the only person on here lately who started a discord group for younger students and declined people over 30. I'm not the biggest fan of discord. Find it very slow and clunky.
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u/Desperate_Check5642 3h ago
I already have a discord with exactly the same premise if you want to join!
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u/Disastrous-Tower-794 1d ago
Yet again excluding people due to age
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u/filmmakingjedi 1d ago
Its because im autistic and want to make friends with people of a similar age to me, and am personally uncomfortable with being friends with people with a large age gap.
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u/nuttyhaze 1d ago
Or this server which is for science modules
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u/fluffyyfox777 15h ago
I don’t recommend this server lol
Got quite a lot of rude dms (racism))1
u/Afraid_Crab9435 13h ago edited 8h ago
u/fluffyyfox777 did you tell the moderators of that server? What happened if you feel comfortable sharing
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u/fluffyyfox777 12h ago
Ermmm it was someone who was known in that server , and the mods were close to them
Ermmm so I’m Persian and it was stuff about politics and Islamophobia and stuff lolololol
But it’s funsies idc anymore
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u/Disastrous-Tower-794 1d ago
I prefer what's app to discord. The discord group I was in last year for one of my modules was very well run but barely used.
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u/NotTreeFiddy BSc (Hons) Computing and IT 14h ago
OP's stated desire for an under 30s group has struck a nerve with some. Further discussion on that point is not productive and will be removed.