Making my first friends in years as an Aspie

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I've very rarely had true peer relationships (other than online) with anyone due to my lack of social skills (in one case I thought I had friends but they were bullying/manipulating me), but thanks to therapy and heavy encouragement from my parents I am starting to talk to other students at my college. It's difficult and awkward, but I'm glad I'm doing it and hopefully I can find someone who shares my interests and whom I'm comfortable talking to. Any advice for making friends?

Learn people's names. That's a big one.

The more often you see someone, the more natural it is to build a friendship with them. So if they are your lab partner or they participate in the same campus organizations, it will be easier to get to know them.

Use one of the social media apps early on, as it helps you figure out who's who and also allows you to send DMs. Just remember, social media can be a trap and people are not "real" friends just because they are on FB, Twitter, WhatsApp, Instagram, etc. I view it as sort of a virtual filing system - an organizational tool, nothing more.

Don't get overly invested in any one person, of either gender. It puts too great a burden on them and drives people away.

Thank you for the advice! I am currently working on eye contact and will be sure to keep in mind that I really don’t know most of my friends online. And I’m terrible with names, but I will work on it.