Love Island will have new social media rule for contestants

Maya Jama teases the return of Love Island

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Love Island sees a number of regular people enter a luxury villa in a bid to find love and win a life-changing amount of money. However, this year, ITV has launched a new duty of care surrounding the contestant’s mental well-being whilst on the show. The show has previously come under fire for the care of the contestants and how they are treated when on and off of the show.

In past years, the Islanders have handed over their social media pages to their friends and family to run whilst they are away.

However, this year under the new rules the contestants will be asked to pause their social media activity for the duration of the series.

The extended measures have been put in place for both the Islanders and their families from the effects that social media can have on their mental health.

Their accounts will remain dormant while they are in the Villa so that nothing is published on their behalf.

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Islanders will also receive enhanced training around certain mutual and respectful behaviours in relationships.

Contestants will be offered resource links to read up on, in advance of meeting their fellow Islanders, to help them identify negative behaviours in relationships and understand the behaviour patterns associated with controlling and coercive behaviour.

Before any of them step into the villa, they will also be shown a video which sees former Islands speak about their time on the show and offer advice.

This will include details on the two-week period before they enter the Villa, how to cope with being filmed throughout the day, the interaction they will have with producers in the Villa, the support provided to family members, dealing with social media trolling, and adapting to life away from the show.

Working alongside ITV and the Love Island team, Dr Paul Litchfield said “The Duty of Care arrangements for Love Island continues to evolve in the light of advances in scientific knowledge and awareness of the pressures young people face in establishing healthy relationships.

“That culture of continuous improvement ensures that Islanders are well placed to benefit from their experience of participating in one of the UK’s most popular TV shows.”

Dr Matthew Gould added: “The enhanced safeguards introduced for Love Island 2023 demonstrate ITV’s commitment to evolve Duty of Care protocols to minimise harm, where possible.

“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.

“Balancing this ‘tight-rope’ requires both the identification of which safeguards have the greatest positive impact on participants’ wellbeing and the professional partnership, put in place by ITV, especially between producers and their welfare teams, and most importantly, the contributors themselves.”

A full overview of the welfare service offered to the Islanders includes Comprehensive psychological support, training for all Islanders on the impacts of social media and handling potential negativity and training for all Islanders on financial management.

Detailed conversations with Islanders regarding the impact of participation in the show, a proactive aftercare package which extends support to all Islanders following their participation in the show and guidance and advice on taking on management after the show.

These protocols continue to be evaluated and reviewed ahead of each series, evolving in line with the popularity of the series and the increasing level of attention around the Islanders.

Aftercare for the Islands will include training in social media, eight therapy sessions, proactive contact 14 months after the show had ended and secure management to represent them for any further public appearances.

The further measures come after the show has been under scrutiny for many years, especially after the deaths of Sophie Gradon, Mike Thalassitis and Caroline Flack.

Over some of the years, viewers have aired their concerns when it comes to specific pairings in the villa and controlling behaviours from either party.

Maya Jama was announced as the new host for the latest series back in October after her predecessor Laura Whitmore stood down from her post.

Love Island returns January 2023 to ITV2 and ITVX.

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