So...Love Island
Ok so here it goes…I have chosen not to write about this show up until now because I have always felt that there’s a lot of hype around it and I’m disinclined to feed the beast. I will also state right now that, as someone who should watch this show (for work purposes), I have NEVER managed to sit through an episode. I have tried on several occasions and just end up really upset and feeling hopeless or shouting at my telly and that is not helpful for someone who wants to give young people hope. I will also state that I have caught my teens watching it over the years and have expressed why I am uncomfortable with them watching it and why they should be wary about getting ‘too into’ Love Island! You have my disclaimers, now for my thoughts…
Is it Love Island’s fault that our children have poor body image? Or is Love Island simply fuelling the fire? Would Love Island exist if our children knew how to truly love themselves and others? These are questions I am asking myself and I do not pretend to have the answers. It is my firm belief, however, that shows like Love Island would not exist without an audience. As a society, we have allowed shows like Love Island to become the centre point of entertainment for our young people.
When we have teachers catching up on the show during their breaks, parents watching the show for their own entertainment and celebrity influencers hyping it up, why on earth would our children think there’s anything wrong with it? There was so much of an outcry after a man who appeared on The Jeremy Kyle Show completed suicide, that this show was axed and rightly so, as that was a show that exploited a whole other aspect of society’s problems (I'll stop there before I rant), but two ex-contestants of Love Island have gone on to complete suicide and the public were happy with what ITV said they would put in place to look after the contestants of the show in the future. It may be worthwhile to point out here that ITV runs both shows! So, why are we ok with that?
Can we really blame the media for our young people’s mental health and poor body image or do we need to look at ourselves first? I have seen and heard so many parents, teachers, youth workers etc talk derogatively about shows like Love Island and I often wonder how many of us are looking closer to home and asking ourselves how can we, as a society, create a world where Love Island (and shows like it) don’t exist because there is no desire from us to watch them?
The media can exploit our insecurities and mould/distort our belief on what ‘perfection’ is, but I believe that, in most instances, it does not create them. You only have to look at the different body shapes that different cultures find attractive to see that it’s society that drives the demand! So, I guess the question for me is “What am I doing to help create a society where shows like Love Island don’t exist and where our entertainment isn’t born from a place of exploitation?”
I think this question looks different to everyone, but I firmly believe that if every single adult who engages with young people (whether professionally, within a family/ friendship or community) leads by example, without ostracising themselves, and starts to engage with young people about topics such as self-worth, body image, kindness, healthy relationships etc… then we will be working towards eradicating the real problem we as a society face and the issue our young people are suffering from the most and that’s not feeling LOVED, VALUED or ABLE.