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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

budding singles 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 number of fans has

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 the 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 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,

handing fans the blessing of being caught up on content. For instance, the introduction of
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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 was 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 the subreddit r/LoveIslandTV, the members of the

community were quick to vote for possible islanders they believed to 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 in 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 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

Love Island UK, but the journey had not always been smooth sailing for the couple. In the
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determination of the finalists of Season 8, the supporters of Ekin-su and Davide were stunned by

the results; the pair was at risk of 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 among 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 the 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 open discussion within the

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

Particularly, in the subreddit r/LoveIslandTV, the opinions of the community cover 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 highly upvoted post circulated in the r/LoveIslandTV community with its main
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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 on 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 the subreddit r/LoveIslandTV remained

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

immense success, the Love Island community on 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.