Love Island has been a summer staple on our TV screen for six years, and in this time the show has developed in many ways - some for the better and others for the worst.
Gone are the days where we could simply root for our favourites and voice our opinions on social media without intense backlash from ‘stans’ - the most enthusiastic and vocal fans of a particular contestant or couple in the villa.
Let’s be clear on what stan culture really is:
Within pop culture idols build fandoms filled with people who adore them. Fandoms have a varied range of fans - beginning with those who only care for the celebrity’s work, to those who can be obsessed and stalk every move they make.
Fans who devote most of their lives and time openly expressing their fondness for their idol normally refer to themselves as 'stans'.
Stan culture goes a step beyond just being an admirer of the star, and it becomes toxic when they defend every mistake they make (no matter how bad it is). They put the celebrity on an unattainable pedestal with no expectations of failure, which can be problematic for several reasons.
So, on Love Island there have been growing accounts online who are ‘stans’ of couples, for example Team Feddy ( Teddy and Faye) and Team Jiberty ( Jake and Liberty). The devoted social media accounts that take it too far, send an onslaught of abuse to commentators or contestants who dare to criticise or disagree with their favourites.
Stan culture on Twitter has particularly peaked during Love Island this year, leading to an onslaught of virtual abuse. Celebrities themselves have coined ‘stan twitter’ as being toxic. There have been many occasions where celebrities resort to deactivating their social media accounts due to harassment directed at them - even from their own stans.
Love Island Twitter has always been the most entertaining part of the show. The real fun of the show is when we all watch along, retweeting funny memes and stating our opinions. However, this year it has brought out more negativity from stans on social media than ever before.
Love Island commentators who have a large following on Twitter, and subsequently high engagement from their tweets on the show - have voiced their frustration on the abuse.
Even Love Island’s very own Amber Gill has been very vocal on twitter during the show. Obviously, her tweets bring in the numbers, aside from being hilarious she has an added perspective on how the show operates. She mentioned on Twitter that before appearing in the famous villa , she used to enjoy Love Island Twitter and commentating on the show. But she also replied to a tweet from sex and relationship expert Oloni implying that had she known about the rise in Twitter stans, she would have not joined in on commentary this year.
Many Twitter accounts have been forced to lock and protect their tweets in case (God forbid) - they disagree with a popular opinion or couples’ actions, and the contestant’s family themselves have put out their own statements – from Kaz Kamwi's family's statement on the abhorrent racist abuse she received, to the vile hate Chloe Burrows received at the start of the series. The result is that the constantly negative conversation around Love Island on Twitter makes everything about the show feel toxic.
Reality TV commentary is not a new concept- from Big Brother to Selling Sunset, people have always voiced their opinions. Perhaps it’s the element of coupling up and having a perfect idolised couple to root for that has brought a new level of obsession – subsequently leading to this relentless toxic stan culture.
Let’s be clear - there is no harm is being a fan of someone’s work or who they are as a person, as long as you can accept that they are not perfect. Life is imperfect - so just because you’ve put this human on an unattainable pedestal it doesn’t eliminate them from failure.
Love Island is meant to be a light-hearted escape following couples falling in love. While yes, we have seen some unacceptable behaviour on the show- it shouldn’t further lead to an onslaught of abuse to either the contestants or to people posting their opinion online. It feels like the level of fun we are supposed to get from the show is being sucked out, as people try to tear down anyone with a different opinion on the couple they ‘stan.’
So whether you are 'Team Feddy' or 'Team Milliam' – can we at least all agree to stomp out this toxic stan culture where people resort to abuse? Love Island Twitter is one of the best bits of Love Island - but it's becoming a breeding ground for hate and resentment.
The alternative? A season of Love Island without the memes, the jokes and the chat - and where's the fun in that?
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