This summer it felt like Love Island USA was all that people could talk about, with clips from the show going viral on various apps like TikTok, Instagram, and X. Season 7 of Love Island broke a major record for Peacock, becoming its most-watched original series, with 18.4 billion minutes of watch time. However, not all of the attention this show received was positive. Many viewers engaged with the show in ways that went too far, such as harassing contestants and spreading toxicity online.
Fans expect the contestants to be perfect; they want constant drama and perfect appearances, but when they fail to meet their expectations, they tear them apart on social media. People seem to forget that the contestants do not follow a script; they are not actors, unlike many other dating shows. Love Island’s episodes air in real time while having the contestants isolated from the outside world when filming. Contestants are also placed in a highly competitive environment, where all of their conversations, arguments, and romances with others are constantly being filmed and broadcasted. This unique format that the show follows is the reason why viewers are drawn in. But this setup also just ends up creating conditions for the islanders to be bullied online. This environment often puts the contestants in stressful situations, causing them to behave in reckless ways.
The constant pressure to couple up, compete, and isolate from the outside world while being filmed can make feelings more intense, leading to more arguments between the contestants being more likely. Competition between contestants is also often encouraged by producers through challenges and “bombshells” being introduced to stir up drama between couples, and because the show features eliminations and a cash prize to be won, tension and mistrust are often created between the islanders. With no access to phones, the islanders are not aware of how they are perceived by people on social media.
Love Island is also closely linked with stan culture. “Stan” is an internet slang term used to describe fans who exhibit an intense devotion towards a celebrity, fictional character, or influencer. Viewers often choose their favorite contestants to “stan,” meaning that they will obsessively hype them up online and will sometimes form an intense parasocial connection with that contestant, and that connection often shapes how they treat other contestants online. When a favorite contestant gets into a disagreement with another contestant, fans will defend their favorite no matter what, even if they are in the wrong, and will sometimes attack and villainize whoever is against them.
Since the islanders have no access to phones, they are not aware of who the favorites are. This puts them at risk of creating an argument with a fan favorite and angering their stans. Producers also often have to cut down hours of footage in order to fit important parts into episodes. By focusing on certain moments, they may unintentionally make certain islanders look cruel while other contestants are made to look charming. This basically invites viewers to villainize and bully those painted in a bad light.
When the islanders leave the show, they are often faced with massive amounts of backlash and cruelty, from people criticizing their actions in the villa to being villainized and insulted for their appearance.
People have become way too comfortable with cyberbullying in recent years; someone going on a show and having the internet turned against them for an action that they deemed insignificant should not be normalized. We all need to take a second and remember that while Love Island may seem like a fun and silly dating show, cyber hate can have dire consequences.
