Love Island commits to improved duty of care, but still lacks diversity

Once the new episodes air, there won’t only be a new host with Maya Jama, and a new batch of contestants likely to bring plenty of bombshells.

New measures have also been put in place before the camera start rolling to make sure that any bullying and trolling on social media is kept to a minimum.

Although Love Island contestants are cut off from the world as they film the reality dating show, in the past they’ve been permitted to have loved ones run their social media accounts.

However, ahead of the launch of the latest season, ITV announced that practice was being thrown out, and that they were actually banning it altogether.

What is the new Love Island social media policy?

For the first time in the shows 18 year history, Islanders will have to disable their social media accounts completely, in a move to protect both them and their loved ones.

When explaining the decision, the broadcaster said they wanted accounts to be ‘dormant’ and nothing should posted on people’s behalf so they could avoid ‘the adverse effects of social media’.

In the past, Islanders haven’t been able to access their accounts, but their family and friends have run them, engaging with viewers and also reminding fans to vote for their favourites.

However, this has also lead to some cases of not only the contestants, but their loved ones, being targeted.

One of this season’s contestants has already expressed her support for the ban, with Tanya Manhenga saying she is ‘all for it’.

While she was unsure at first, she came around to the benefits in her Instagram profile being paused during her TV stint.

‘I thought, is it a good thing, is it not a good thing? But then I looked at it in a way of obviously you can’t stop trolls,’ she said.

‘If it’s going to reduce the potential amount of trolls that you’re going to get then I’m all for it.’

What other measures have been put in place?

As part of ITV’s new duty of care measures for 2023, it was also revealed that contestants would be receiving ‘guidance and training’ around ‘mutually respectful behaviour in relationships’.

It came after the most recent season, which aired last summer, prompted thousands of complaints to broadcasting watchdog Ofcom and was even given the title of being the most complained about show of 2022 by the time the numbers were crunched at the end of the year.

A feature of the previous season, Islanders will also continue to be offered ‘inclusive language’ training covering disability, sexuality, race and ethnicity, and microaggressions.

These conversations will again be chaired by the Black Collective of Media in Sport (Bcoms) founder Leon Mann MBE and others.

Prior to entering the Villa, Islanders would have also watched a video fronted by the show’s executive producer and head of welfare, interviewing former Islanders about their experiences on the show.

This includes details on the two-week period before the show launches, how to cope with being filmed 24/7, 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.

‘The Duty of Care arrangements for Love Island continue 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.’

The new Islanders were introduced earlier this week and include a TV salesman, airport security officer, farmer and financial advisor.

Love Island launches on Monday January 16 at 9pm on ITV2 and ITVX.