College can increase lifelong friends at the same time that more people go to college and more people have fewer friends than ever. It's possible that there's confounding factors, like a general decline in socializing.
I agree with your comment. Personally, the vast majority of my closest friends live in other states and we rarely see each other in person, but when we do get together it’s like we were never really apart (thanks to the internet and similar interests that keep us in constant communication)
