Should Love Island be scrapped?
Olivia Olphin examines the impact that television like Love Island has had on our society.
Love Island is a programme that prides itself on finding love for ‘sexy singles’ in the sun. The show claims that love is its main objective, but often highlights the arguments, betrayals, and heartbreak that inevitably arise from relationships put under this much pressure.
The recent tragic death of Caroline Flack has shaken many viewers, members of the media, and fans of the programme. Although struggling with personal issues, a pending assault case, and the loss of her job, it is suggested that the media scrutiny and excessive online trolling combined with a lack of aftercare from the Love Island team, were what finally pushed her over the edge. Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident. Mike Thalastiss hounded as ‘muggy mike’ during and after the show, was found dead in a park in 2019, and Sophie Gradon who also appeared on the show committed suicide in June 2018.
The care from the team at Love Island seems to be slim to non-existent. At the time Sophie Gradon asked for help, her mother has said that all she received was a ten minute Skype call with a counsellor. The programme subsequently stated after Mike’s death that “The key focus will be for us to no longer be reliant on the islanders asking us for support but for us to proactively check in with them on a regular basis.” However, does this seem like enough? Amy Hart, who was on the summer Love Island in 2019, has confessed to needing counselling ever since she left the villa. For young people under such an intense spotlight with no previous media training, it seems like pushing them out into a pack of rabid hyenas.
Love Island is addictive entertainment. I myself have watched many seasons of it, only stopping before this most recent winter edition. Why is it so addictive? Perhaps due to how easy it is to consume. Humans love to observe, somewhat voyeuristically, other humans; note the success Big Brother had in the early to mid 2000s. The programme is carefully and cleverly edited to keep you hooked episode to episode, and Ian Sterling does a ‘sterling’ job of adding humour to any situation. You want to be one of them, they seem like they’re living the dream, sipping on named water bottles, flirting, getting a grade A natural tan. They’re going to leave the villa with a brand deal and a million Instagram followers, they’re made for life.
The issue is, Love Island promotes unhealthy body expectations for young people; it advocates perfection. Almost one in four of those aged 18-24 say reality TV makes them worry about their body image. Even I myself have struggled with my self-image and self-worth after watching perfectly bronzed, skinny Instagram bodies being paraded around in the media as the norm. It’s difficult to observe this while knowing that you will never look like that without surgery. There are no stretch marks, few fuller figured women, and no flabby stomachs on the TV. Instagram compounds this, as more than a third of 18-24-year olds said images used in advertising and promotion on social media made them worry about their body image. We are bombarded on TV and on every platform with diet teas, hair tablets, and workout routines to achieve a ‘summer body’ or the ‘Love Island body’.
Candice Lam Ye-tung, a psychologist who works with stars and CEOs suggests that “constant public exposure and the media glare also nurture a tendency towards perfection.” Participants on Love Island are held to such a high, unattainable standard. Last year, Molly Mae’s feelings for Tommy Fury were seen as ‘fake’ and she was hounded as a gold-digger. Ironically, they are one of the only couples on that series to remain together after the series had aired. But she has been constantly trolled; from the way she looks to the way she speaks. These ‘perfect’ young people on Love Island are scrutinised for their outward appearances. They are seen as too ugly, too skinny, too curvy. If they get surgery to fix these ‘problems’ then they are hounded for their superficiality, for being bad role models to young women and not being natural enough. Just as Meghan Markle is attacked for wearing too much makeup, wearing too little, for touching her baby bump, for not touching her baby bump. Perfection does not exist, but this is the standard to which we hold women in the media. Women in the public eye are hated with such vitriol that all self-worth goes out of the window.
The Channel 4 show The Jump was cancelled due to multiple celebrity injuries, and The Jeremy Kyle Show was axed after one of the guests committed suicide, but Love Island continues even with multiple deaths. Why should this show get more allowances? Is it because of its extreme popularity and resonance with young people? (The highest ever audience was around six million, around 9% of the UK population.) One cannot entirely blame the show for the deaths of its contestants - mental health issues, the media, and other incidents in their lives obviously contributed. But why should we continue to watch a show that perpetuates toxic ideals and unattainable standards?
As someone who was once a big fan of the show, believing that it was light entertainment, and getting involved in the hype and the slang, I now believe that all it does is promote unhealthy and unrealistic expectations for young people, and hurts the very people whose careers it supposedly creates and nurtures.
“In a world where you can be anything, be kind.”
This quote was posted by Caroline Flack on Instagram on 5th December, just two months before she tragically committed suicide. Perhaps we should all remember this when judging the contestants on Love Island, when commenting on twitter, and when meeting new people. This fast-paced consumer driven world based on swipes and likes is only further detaching us from each other. Put your phone down, miss an episode of Love Island and try to connect with the people around you. Ask how they are, because a little bit of kindness makes all the difference.
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