Many singles rely on apps to find love but shows like Love Island and Love is Blind are making matching harder – Here’s why.
Shows like Love Island are ruining dating (Image: ITV)
Reality TV dating shows are the topic of many discussions among young people, from the latest couplings and dumpings on ITV’s Love Island to ‘fake’ engagements on Netflix‘s Perfect Match and all the drama that Love Is Blind often brings.
These are just some of the many shows out there, which show young “sexy” singles looking for love. No stone goes unturned as cameras follow the contestants from just having a chat to sharing beds together, as they get to know each other on what is supposedly a more intimate level.
The idea behind these types of shows are for the audience to watch as those who become cast members fall in love. But most of these types of programmes just attract “clout chasers” – those who want to hitch a quick ride on the fame train.
While it brings a lot of drama and entertainment, many feel that this genre of TV programme could be dirtying the dating pool as the unusual dating habits spill over into the real world. From lack of respresentation, to never ‘labelling’ a relationship and keeping options open, there are a lot of problems that people see on screen and think that they can translate over into their own lives.
With the real world being dominated by swipe culture and dating horror stories, you’d hope for a show that can present real, true love and prove that it is possible. Instead, these shows are making things more difficult and here’s why.
Love is Blind is one of many dating shows with unrealistic expectations for daters (Image: Getty)
Lack of representation
These types of shows have faced endless backlash about their lack of representation and diversity. Last year even a former Love Island contestant called out the ITV producers, after spending a week on the show in 2021.
Priya Gopaldas, who was partnered with Brett Staniland in the seventh series of the ITV show after joining the villa as a bombshell, put a post on Instagram criticising that year’s line up. She wrote: “Love Island, where is the South Asian representation? P.S. No, dropping someone in a week before the final is tokenism, it doesn’t count.”
Former contestant Sharon Gaffka also campaigned for improved body diversity among contestants, shortly after the summer 2022 cast for the show was announced. At the time, she said: “Diversity comes in lots of different boxes, it’s not just ethnicity. While I do think it’s great that you know, close to 50% of the cast will be diverse or from a different background, I still think we’re not seeing any Asians in the original line-up.
“And again, there is a little bit of more diversity than other previous series in terms of body size, but again, I’d still think that the producers could have done a little bit more in terms of body diversity. We stereotypically see men with six packs, women being very, very petite. There are still mid-size and plus-size people out there who are looking for love and would make great contestants on the show so I feel like they’re still being overlooked.”
And her comments are echoing into the real world as people are always on the lookout for someone slimmer, someone bustier, someone with better abs – The list is endless. This can then lead to catfishing, where people use false photos and identities to make others believe they are someone else.