ITV reveals Love Island cast will be banned from social media during the series again as former contestants back rule | The Sun
ITV have revealed that the Love Island cast will be banned from using social media again during the new series.
The ITV2 dating show made the massive shake-up to the rules last year – but it left some divided, with Islanders leaving the show with a much smaller following than usual.
It meant family and friends of the Islanders were banned from posting on their social media accounts during the show, and instead accounts were dormant.
After an initial trial period, the show will now formally introduce a guideline asking participants to pause social media handles and accounts for the duration of their time on the show.
This will help ensure that both the Islanders and their families are protected from the adverse effects of social media.
The Love Island Duty of Care policies and procedures are reviewed after each series and reflect feedback from former Islanders.
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Reality star Amy Hart – who shot to fame on series five in 2019 – commented on her experiences with social media.
“I didn’t really take into account when I went into the villa that although my best friend was really excited to run my social media account, it was me that signed up to do the show, not my family and not my friends," she said.
"But it was them that had to read the death threats and it was them that had to read the horrible messages.
"Whereas when I came out, I came out to a great reaction because of the way that I left, and they were the ones who had a hard time when I was in there.”
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Tasha Ghouri – who made history during the 2022 series when she became the first ever deaf contestant – praised the ban as a "step in the right direction".
“I think this is great and needs to be done. I believe it’s 100% the right step in the right direction, I could see there was a lot less trolling and negativity," she said.
The latest series saw all contestants change their bio on Instagram to “I’m off to find love in the Love Island villa. See you soon!"
In the past, Islanders' teams used their accounts to encourage viewers to vote for them and build up their following.
However, they were often subject to vile abuse from trolls and there were even occasional spats between contestants' family and friends.
Since the ban, fashion insiders predicted this could be the "beginning of the end".
The ITV2 programme has been a fan favourite for the last eight years – producing big names like Molly-Mae Hague and Gemma Owen who have signed mega money deals with PrettyLittleThing.
But the online fast-fashion giant has now revealed that it will not sign anyone from the most recent series.
"There are fewer applicants for Love Island this summer. The ban has exposed what we all know: that the show is all about landing lucrative deals, not finding love," a source told The MoS.
Winners Kai Fagan and Sanam Harrinanan finished the series last Monday with just 173,000 and 153,000 Instagram followers respectively.
While Gemma Owen, who appeared on the dating show last year, ended with over a million followers.
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This year there are no Islanders with more than a million followers on Instagram.
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