That assumes that the other party is also interested in navigation; some people are - and I'm sure you've reached this conclusion in your own experiences - just not worth the time and effort it takes to engage with. As it is all we can do is guess on the state of this kid's social life because the article doesn't talk about it. He could also have friends his own age; going through a PhD program would make it harder, but it's not like has to worry about feeding himself, taking care of his living situation, and paying off student loans like most PhD students.