‘Love Island’ Contestants Lose Social Media Access During Season
In an interesting move, the next season of Love Island will have one significant difference. What is it? The contestants won’t be allowed to have active social media accounts during the season. This is all done for a crucial reason as well.
Here is a look at why Love Island is taking away social media this upcoming season and what it means for the contestants.
Love Island losing social media access in 2023
One of the biggest complaints about contestants on shows like Love Island is that the contestants are there to become social media influencers and not to find love. That will be tough in 2023. Anyone who appears on the show looking for love will have to lose their social media accounts. This means the family members and friends who usually run the accounts while contestants are in the villa will not. The accounts will be paused completely.
However, this isn’t to keep the contestants from coming onto the show for the right reasons. Instead, this is a safety precaution implanted by ITV to protect the contestants’ mental health. This is according to Dr. Matthew Gould, a Psychologist who consults on Love Island.
“The bold decision to pause Islanders’ social media activity during the new series is a testament to ITV’s serious intent, especially as this input provides both a benefit to the appeal of the program and a potential source of mental health problems,” Dr. Gould said.
There are other safeguards that ITV is implementing, including providing “guidance and training around mutually respectful behavior in relationships” before the show starts. They will also get resource links to help them understand negative relationship behaviors and controlling behavior.
Why is Love Island doing this?
The reason for the changes is due to complaints and concerns about past seasons of the show. This is specifically about the bullying of mostly female contestants on social media. It added to the complaints that come in after every episode about how the men treat the women on the show.
The concerns really took center stage in 2018 when former Love Island contestant Sophie Gradon took her own life within two years of appearing on the show. Her boyfriend Aaron Armstrong found her body and he ended up taking his own life less than a month later. She was 32 and he was 25.
One year later, another contestant took their life in Mike Thalassitis. It was his death that caused people to demand better aftercare for reality TV stars. In response, Love Island promised to offer further support in the future and “bespoke training” for contestants.
Do you feel that taking away social media from Love Island contestants is a good idea and could help save lives? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
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