This is curious and certainly not what I experienced in college-- much of the software at any rate.

What's interesting is that Facebook is likely running experiments like this regularly:

"Working with computer scientists, Mr. Pittinsky started an academic research project that tiptoes toward a better understanding of social connections. The research team’s raw material: anonymous logs from swipes made with Arizona State ID cards. When students use these cards, be it to buy food on campus or access the fitness center, the transaction gets recorded. The question that struck Mr. Pittinsky was whether or not you could infer social ties from those trails."