Reality TV's Achilles' heel
Misogyny, sexist comments, and bullying behaviour – producers have been inundated with complaints about some of this season's contestants. One episode in particular prompted more than 1,000 complaints and a call from Women's Aid UK.
Today The Detail speaks to senior entertainment writer Tara Watson about the show's problematic history, and Jane Herbert, an associate professor in developmental psychology from Wollongong University, about the wider implications of reality TV.
'We learn through just watching and observing the things that are in our world,' Herbert says.
'When we've got lots of programmes … presenting these extreme views to people, they start to see those behaviours as 'It's in my environment all the time, this must be the way that we're supposed to act',' she says.
Shows like Love Island are premised on creating as much drama as possible, and one issue that arises is bigotry – when an individual has such a strong view on something that they refuse to even acknowledge another view.
'We're not understanding what we might call a theory of mind, that people have other opinions that might be different from ours and that it's worthwhile listening to those opinions,' Herbert says.
It's important to note that Love Island UK isn't the only reality TV show with problems.
Most recently MasterChef UK fired two of its hosts after separate allegations of racist remarks and sexual misconduct were substantiated.
The host of another reality TV show, The Repair Shop, has recently been charged with two counts of rape.
Ultimately it is up to individuals to choose what they watch and how much they consume, but Herbert says the widespread popularity and tactical evening release time makes shows like Love Island UK difficult to ignore.
And with the rise of social media and online streaming, access to these kinds of shows – whether that be through full-length episodes or short social media clips – is easier than ever.
'It's changed a lot from when we were younger, and we only had a couple of channels, and everyone watched the same thing.
'Now our viewing is very individual. We can pick and choose when we watch it, we can be watching it sometimes when we are in very vulnerable states and we can also share snip-bits with people as well and present very distorted views,' she says.
Herbert doesn't think we should get rid of reality TV, arguing it can actually bring up important discussions.
'Number of partners, or what things we enjoy in sex, there might not be a normal conversation and watching shows like [Love Island] might be helpful for getting some of those views out; but when it becomes unhelpful is when you only hear one side of the story or one becomes very dominant,' she explains.
It's a genre that despite all its flaws remains incredibly popular. After facing a slump in previous years, this season's viewership of Love Island UK rose to over 2.6 million for the first episode.
'It feels like it's reality,' Herbert says.
'These shows, they draw us in because we don't know exactly what's going to happen next. But the target audience for these ones [Love Island] are vulnerable people who are just learning about relationships … so we need to think about the way we support people when they're watching these sorts of shows.'
Check out how to listen to and follow The Detail here.
You can also stay up-to-date by liking us on Facebook or following us on Twitter.
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