Dear Readers,
Before you scream at your screen in shock at the title of my post, please hear me out...
Love Island has, over the years, grown on us Brits and somehow taken over our lives. I have become increasingly interested in understanding why we find relationship drama, drunk antics and sex on TV so appealing and I think I know why...it's somehow educational, in a twisted kind of way.
TV shows like Love Island are a time for girls (and guys) to congregate at 9pm for some serious reconnaissance. Get ready to take some mental notes.
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Trying to explain to my parents and family why I am still single is never an easy conversation. "But you have so much going for you", "You must have met someone new at uni", "I'm sure the boys are queuing up to date you"...Well not exactly. The queue may be well and truly there, but they show no signs of being the real deal. No one wants any kind of commitment.
That's where Love Island comes in, it has become the unsung hero. It's a prime device to illustrate to all parents, family members and the older generation why so many of our generation are classified as single.
This digitalised society we now live in, has well and truly messed us up and it's due to a number of factors:
1. Social Media - Social media has a huge part to play in the downfall of trust and loyalty. Its ambiguity leaves people feeling vulnerable, and so the lurking begins. Do you ever find yourself reading someone's tweets and thinking 'I wonder who that is about?'
Or you find yourself scrolling past a picture you know is a revenge 'look at me now' seflie which has been posted in the hope of getting a specific person's attention. A picture tells a thousand words, right?
2. Fear of Commitment - Commitment is our generations kryptonite. FOC is everywhere and people seem to wear it like a badge of honour. Gone are the days where two people can actually be a couple.
You either fall into one of two categories - 'The Friend Zone' or what I have recently coined, 'The Casual Zone'. We all know what 'The Friend Zone' means, but if you find yourself in 'The Casual Zone', you will be familiar with having to work with this awkward bubble of confusion where you occasionally do relationship style activities, their friends don't know you've been seeing each other and plans are usually made on their terms. Things don't tend to get any better than that, so don't expect to ever hear the words 'I love you' any time soon. "It's not like that, it's casual".
3. The 'Grass is Greener' theory - Camilla and Jonny's situation is a classic example of the process I have also coined the 'Grass is Greener' theory. No matter how incredible the person may be, the other half can't see past their sexual urges and still keeps their options open in a bid to find a better person (which by the way is completely unobtainable) who ticks every box "on paper". It's the perfect excuse to avoid any kind of serious commitment because the person is never happy with what they have in front of them.
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Before you choose to shun the behaviour of the people who go on this
show, take a minute to appreciate what they are telling us about our own behaviour towards relationships. And for those of you who don't happen to
fall into this generation, can you see now, why it is such a battle to find
anything close to a traditional relationship.
So when you next tune in to watch Love Island, see at as less of a guilty pleasure, and more of an academic experience for bettering yourself. If they are "100% your type on paper" and you get on well with them, "crack on". But don't be "muggy" and "put it on someone" else at the same time. Maybe it's a good thing to "put all your eggs in one basket" and commit.
Stay Sweet,
Alice xx
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