Changes are in place for the sake of their well-being.
2023’s Love Island will be looking a little bit different as contestants are set to have their social media accounts taken off them completely during the show.
Typically, friends or family members take over the islanders’ accounts and post on their behalf while they’re in the villa, but that’s not what will be happening for the upcoming winter season.
They will now instead receive “guidance and training around mutually respective behaviour in relationships” following thousands of complaints earlier this year.
All activity will be paused on social media and nobody will be allowed to post as them as a way to build their brands or help gather support.
“The bold decision to pause Islanders’ social media activity during the new series is a testament to ITV’s serious intent, especially as this input provides both a benefit to the appeal of the programme and a potential source of mental health problems,” said Dr Matthew Gould, a Psychologist who consults on the Lifted Entertainment show.
Deadline reported that Gould said that the “enhanced safeguards” also include the contestants “receiving guidance and training around mutually respective behaviour in relationships” prior to the start of the show.
They will also be offered resource links to help identify negative behaviours in relationships and patterns that are associated with controlling and coercive behaviour.
All other safeguarding protocols will remain in place for the series as new measures brought in last year saw video training being offered which covered inclusive language around disability, sexuality, race and ethnicity, and microaggressions.
Islanders also watch a video fronted by the show’s Executive Producer and Head of Welfare, interviewing former Islanders about their experiences on the show ahead of their appearance on the show.
The aftercare in the series sees islanders being offered a minimum of eight therapy sessions once they arrive home and producers are in contact with them for 14 months following their stint in the villa.
