Every evening at 9, I’m sitting on my couch, snacks ready, to tune into the next episode of Love Island. Although I keep complaining about sexist statements and lack of excitement, I still watch the show. Some may find themselves in a similar situation or wonder why anyone would watch something that sometimes makes them scream at their telly. The answer is: It’s entertainment gold. The Islanders find themselves in the utopia-like villa, where it seems like there’s no Covid, no everyday struggles and nothing but hot people to date for the duration of the season. The recouplings, nights in Casa Amor – cue relationship drama! – and the betrayals they produce are so intriguing, it’s hard not to get sucked into the show.
While many people vent about the show to their partners or friends, some take it to social media, producing viral tweets that sometimes even feature on the show. The tweets range from entertaining to straight-up insulting. In the latter, lies the problem: Why do people think it’s okay to insult someone on the internet? These tweets are concerned with the looks and quirks of the Islanders, ranging from making relatively harmless memes or gifs to pretty intense harassment and violence. The Islanders’ appearances are dissected on national television, with people using the anonymity of the internet to say whatever comes to their minds.
This leads us to the question: Does Love Island provide enough support for the Islanders, during and after their time in the villa? The show says it does, and you could see improvements being made in the Summer 2019 season when Amy was pulled out of the villa and offered professional support after Curtis came back from Casa Amor and dumped her.
Nevertheless, is this really enough? What happens when the show ends? While contestants know they will be in the public eye when coming out of the villa, they won’t be 100% aware of what to expect. The show is cut in a way that generates the most drama, sometimes showing arguments out of context and presenting a contestant in a certain light. After Winter Love Island 2020, Twitter was flooded with people hating on Siannise, only for the majority to turn around a few weeks into the series saying they misjudged her and she’s actually amazing. Not everyone gets this lucky though; some contestants don’t have the screen time or enough time in the villa to show people who they really are.
The online harassment many of the contestants face has also been extended to the former host of the show, late Caroline Flack. She and two former Islanders passed away due to suicide after facing intense harassment online after being on the show: Mike Thalassitis in 2018, Sophie Gradon in 2019, and Flack in 2020.
At the end of week one in the villa, the online harassment on the Love Island 2021 contestants reached a new height: Chloe was sent several death threats and her social media account was flooded with DMs telling her to kill herself, as reported by the BBC. While ITV condemned the harassment and urged people to “think before posting, and remember that our Islanders are people with feelings”, one must consider whether any support they can give will be enough to prevent tragic suicides by people affiliated with the show in the future.
I think providing mental health professionals for the Islanders in and outside the villa is a good shout by ITV. Other than trying to report and block bullies online, there isn’t much they can do. However, the onus is also on us as viewers to speak up and report online harassment. We have to keep in mind what our words can do to others when we impulsively upload a tweet. As the saying goes: If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.
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