Same! I didn't mention that because I didn't want to just receive a reply like "well obviously it's a YOU problem!"

I'm in university right now, 2 years behind on standard schedule, and the people younger than me have a distinct problem with communicating or making friends, which I'm told is due to going to school during covid for longer than I did - but I think part of it is also technology exposure.

I went to several clubs and a lot of them were almost empty.

Clubs are indeed declining. People might then suggest fraternities/sororities but they're very problematic, generally.

I also genuinely don't have the time for clubs because I do one of the highest work-hour courses available. The socialisation I've done was largely not at uni but from interacting with the wider world around me,e.g thru volunteering, and I think we're moving towards a world like that since people are increasingly unable to move out of their parents home, and working from home increases.

But more importantly I think the attitude of 'uni is for partying and if you don't party through it all there's something wrong with you!" Is harmful to neurodivergent students.

Don't keep spreading that misconception, people are losing rights because of bad brain science. The study your half remembering did not even attempt to study people at age 26 or older and thus you can't make conclusions

In the US, university functions like a rite of passage into adulthood.

Which i think is precisely the reason it shouldn't be like that across other countries. This is very derived from anglo-culture but historically university has been for all ages groups; public education in Europe is the reason people started doing it later, but realistically some people could be doing it earlier and some people shouldn't be doing it until later in life when they're more sure of what they want. To me the tragedy of public education is that it holds smart and hardworking kids back until the less motivated ones catch up with them.

The brain i suppose does keeps growing until say midlife, 30s, or 25 (most things keep developing until 25) - this is something doctors believe when I talk to them. But as my above paragraph alludes: some people reach mental maturity faster. I would rather we look at uni as a scholarly pursuit again and detach the societal pressure to engage in hedonism. It (university) would benefit as a system engaged-in by all age groups.