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Kisha Revelo

Judith R. McCann

English 1301-129

23 September 2022

The Road to Romance on Love Island

The foundation for a long lasting romance has long been a debatable topic for society;

however, a six-bedroom villa sitting on the land of Mallorca seems to do just the trick for people

who hope to find romance on Love Island UK. Airing on ITV2 in the United Kingdom, Love

Island UK is a reality TV dating show that has garnered millions of viewers in the nation alone.

As the show grew increasingly famous outside the UK, the amount of fans have accumulated,

developing more online communities that serve the purpose of discussing the most recent season

of Love Island UK. Particularly, Reddit has grown into a widely used social media platform that

allows the creation of different communities through subreddits focused on a certain topic or

interest. Users are able to share posts that contain text, links, images, or videos, which have the

ability to expand to discussion threads through comments between members of a community.

Through the use of Reddit, the members of subreddit r/LoveIslandTV are given the opportunity

to share basic information and updates about Season 8 of Love Island UK, different ways to help

their favorite couples to secure the prize and title as the season’s winners, and drastically honest

opinions about the overall season.

Foremost, the announcement of the eighth season of Love Island UK brewed up much

anticipation within the Love Island community on Reddit. It was common for fans of the show to

stumble upon posts that contained information and updates about the most recent season,
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handing fans the blessing of being caught up on content. For instance, the introduction of

contestants, who are known as “islanders” on the show, instantly circulated through the Reddit

community as the premiere of Season 8 approached. On the “About” section of r/LoveIslandTV,

every islander’s social media page is conveniently linked to their name on the contestant list,

along with their age and occupation. However, the introduction of the initial islander line-up of

the season came along with a striking twist: the public were given the chance to pair up the

original 10 islanders through voting according to their compatibility. Based on the existing

information of the islanders shared on subreddit r/LoveIslandTV, the members of the community

were quick to vote for possible islanders they believed have the best compatibility. On a Reddit

post that links a “First Look” teaser of the first episode of Season 8, the comments included “…I

hope the contestants will make this season exciting. Don't need people who are acting on camera

and calculating their steps. The coupling twist already seems promising!”

(oversizedsweetpotato). Fueling much excitement for the results, Love Island fans residing

outside of the UK were then updated on the voting through the submission of posts urging them

on how to vote as non-residents of the UK. Gradually, as more episodes of the season were aired,

the r/LoveIslandTV community began to handpick the islanders they feel are most deserving of

their support.

The islanders of the show seemingly enter with the hopes of falling in love with a fellow

islander, but the shiny prize of £50,000 is certainly difficult to ignore. The decision is on the

hands of the fans who settle on who they deem worthy of being crowned the eighth season’s

winners. Reddit is utilized by the Love Island UK community to share ways on how to help their

favorite couples make a safe trip to the finale, giving them a chance to win the money prize.

Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu and Davide Sanclimenti earned the honor of winning the eighth season of
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Love Island UK, but the journey had not always been smooth sailing for the couple. In the

determination of the finalists of Season 8, the supporters of Ekin-su and Davide were stunned by

the results; the pair was at risk in the public voting elimination. In a series of posts curated by the

community members, individuals delved into the discussion of whether tactical voting played a

vital role within the islanders. Nevertheless, to keep the couple from being eliminated before the

finale, the ‘Ekinde’ fans of the r/LoveIslandTV community joined forces to vote for the couple’s

future on the show. “Ekin and Davide were winning no matter this vote. No one else stands a

chance, it’s more of a fight for 2nd place.” were the words uttered by dedicated ‘Ekinde’ fans, as

the public voting that determined the couple’s spot in the villa was seemingly a ticking time

bomb (lauren1328). In the Reddit community, it was much in discussion that the pair’s

supporters were known to spare votes for couples other than ‘Ekinde’, but for the sake of the

couple, their fans were steadfastly urged to place all their possible votes on them. The efforts

made by their fans were proven to be worthwhile with the eventual results of the overall season,

but inevitably, the opinions of other individuals in the community did not always align with

theirs.

As for the fact that Love Island UK is a reality TV dating show, many discussions erupt

on social media based on the different aspects of the show. As discussion within the community

is highly encouraged, the members are evidently entitled to their own opinions. Particularly, in

subreddit r/LoveIslandTV, the opinions of the community cover from a range of topics: the

islanders, couples, editing, show production, mental health, and many more. The posts can be

freely subjective, as long as the community’s rules are followed and the opinions are appropriate

and respectful. There is an existing discrepancy between the perspectives of individuals a part of

the community, as shown in the Reddit post “All of them want to go home atp” (Ghee). The
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highly upvoted post circulated in the r/LoveIslandTV community with its main focus centering

on the possibility of the contestants’ mental health being possibly affected by the show’s

producers. Ghee claims, “…i feel like it’s pretty visible no genuine relationships and connections

are being formed.This is Season 2 level toxicity plus a lot of them have been targeted to a lot of

hate online i hope all of them get some kind of support.”, conveying how these opinions released

onto subreddit r/LoveIslandTV can heavily vary from one individual to another. The viewpoints

from members are based on their own beliefs and values, with other factors, such as the

likelihood that some may be avid watchers of several seasons of the show, contributing to how

Reddit is readily implemented to achieve considerate discussions involving contrasting stances.

Overall, the endless moments on the Love Island villa in Mallorca were captured through

many posts on the Love Island community in Reddit. The members of the r/LoveIslandTV

community opened up a platform on Reddit to share what viewers must know to improve their

experience as a viewer of Season 8 of Love Island UK, different means of providing support to

the outcome of their favorite couples, and opinions that have the ability to spark up lengthy

discussion threads. Although several of the contestants of Season 8 left the villa with

circumstances they had not hoped for, members of subreddit r/LoveIslandTV remained

supportive for islanders they rooted for throughout the season. With the eighth season’s immense

success, the Love Island community of Reddit has undoubtedly grown and expanded, increasing

the anticipation for future seasons of the show.

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Works Cited

Ghee. [U/Exciting_Ad_3425]. “All of Them Want to Go Home ATP.” Reddit, 12 July 2022,

https://www.reddit.com/r/LoveIslandTV/comments/vxchd5/all_of_them_want_to_go_ho

me_atp/.

U/lauren1328. “Comment by U/Lauren1328 on ‘Ekinde - Strategic Vote.’” Reddit, 29 July 2022,

https://www.reddit.com/r/LoveIslandTV/comments/wbg2n5/comment/ii6hzy9/?utm_sour

ce=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3.

U/oversizedsweetpotato. “Comment by U/oversizedsweetpotato on ‘First Look: The Summer of

Love Begins: Love Island 2022.’” Reddit, 6 June 2022,

https://www.reddit.com/r/LoveIslandTV/comments/v677zx/comment/ibdzuxa/?utm_sour

ce=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3.