'Love Is Blind's Biggest Problem Is the Way It's Using Social Media

Image by Jeff Chacon, Netflix

Love Is Blind premiered in February 2020 and was designed to be a social experiment about what makes people fall in love. The reality dating show’s format follows singles looking for love as they connect in segregated rooms called pods. The idea is that the contestants can hear each other, but they only get the chance to see each other in person after they fall in love and get engaged. The premise of Love is Blind sets it apart from other dating reality shows because it focuses on more than just physical attraction.

The show has spanned 7 seasons and has even branched off into a UK-based spinoff due to its massive success. However, as Love is Blind heads into its 8th season in February 2025, the show seems to have lost the plot. The biggest problem that the Netflix reality show has to tackle right now is casting. The first few seasons of Love Is Blind featured contestants who actually wanted to find love. This authenticity made the show a massive success. However, more recently, it feels like the producers are casting participants who couldn’t care less about the objective of the experiment, and it seems as if the root problem here is poor casting filters.

The cracks in the foundation of Love Is Blind started to show during Season 6. While the Season was an overall success, anyone who has followed the show from the beginning can tell that it just didn’t feel genuine! For starters, the producers heavily relied on social media to find the cast for Love is Blind Season 6. Many of the contestants openly admitted to being scouted through social media platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, and even LinkedIn! For instance, AD Smith revealed that the producers found her through the Instagram account of the nightclub she worked at. Similarly, Johnny McIntyre was approached through LinkedIn, which initially made him feel like he was being pranked.

Now, because the producers are starting to use social media as their primary form of recruitment, it seems as if they’re automatically prioritizing people’s appearances over their personalities. In a way, the producers come across as biased and favor people who present themselves a certain way online. Considering this, it doesn’t matter to the producers whether these people are actually looking for love or not. And once given the chance to star in a reality show as famous as Love is Blind, who in their right mind would ever say no? Casting through social media, therefore, if done without complete due diligence, completely defeats the purpose of the show and the social experiment that it’s based on. While Smith and McIntyre were open to finding love on the show once they had been cast. However, from what we saw on the show, it seems as if their actual participation was driven by curiosity and fame rather than the desire to find a lifelong partner. It’s not that social media is necessarily bad to get the deed done. It’s just that cold-selecting participants based solely off social media hasn’t worked out well.

Freddie Powell from 'Love is Blind: UK,' smiling during an episode — Image via Netflix

Love Is Blind UK Season 1 was a massive success with the fans, who felt like the UK edition of the show was true to the original premise of the show. Participants like Demi Jones and Freddie Powell quickly became fan favorites because they were genuinely invested in finding a partner through the show. The UK contestants were real and vulnerable, and that’s what helped them resonate with the audience.

On the other hand, consider someone like Trevor Sova from Love Is Blind Season 6, who initially earned the audience’s admiration and walked out of the show a hero. However, it was later revealed that Sova had been in a relationship with someone throughout the filming of the show. This meant that his connection with Chelsea Blackwell was a complete lie. Then you have Tyler Francis from Love Is Blind Season who took things a step further and hid the fact that he had three children. This proves that the casting for Love is Blind UK — which doesn’t rely on social media solely — allowed for a more thorough and intentional selection process. The success of Love is Blind UK proves that casting relatable individuals is the key to making the experiment work. Otherwise, you end up with contestants like Sova and Francis who ultimately destroy the audience’s trust in the show.

Nicole on a sofa in 'Love Is Blind: UK' Netflix — Image via Netflix

As reported by E! News, the original casting process for Love Is Blind recruited participants through traditional processes — and that’s the approach Love Is Blind UK followed for most of it. For the show’s future seasons, it would yield much better results if the producers go back to community groups, workplaces, and other offline networks to find people who are truly looking for love. Instead of leaning on social media, the process needs to focus on emotional maturity to ensure that no one joins the show for ulterior motives.

All seasons of Love Is Blind are streaming on Netflix.