Got this game late last night and already put 6 hours in. I'm reminded of how pure the escapism is of Japanese RPG's -- been years since I've played one.
So I'm sure the feeling of being overwhelmed is pretty common in this thread to newbies, but my social options just opened up and I'm really dumbfounded about the social aspects. This is normal? I honestly don't care about playing with anyone else at the moment, just want to learn the game a little better first. I'm not losing out on anything by ignoring that, am I?
Don't worry so much about the social aspect until you're farther in. Just know that you can spend the tickets you'll get from your squad completing the squad tasks to buy enemy dropped materials at the console in the barracks. For some quests it's better to just cash in tickets rather than hunt down the materials yourself.