While contestants build new relationships on screen, people at home are quietly detaching themselves from the current ones. Viewers are hooked not onto each other, but instead on the drama of strangers beneath Fiji’s blazing sun. Wrapped within the hurricane that is reality TV and engrossing ourselves in the feud between other people, sometimes we need to stop and ask; why do we care so much about other people’s lives?
When immersed into reality television, such as shows like “Love Island”, it’s easy to become wrapped up in other people’s lives and drama, so much so that it actually begins to affect our own relationships.
Psychologically, this happens because our brains are so engaged with the islander’s lives, it’s almost like you’re first-hand experiencing the couplings, break-ups, and arguments yourself. This is because of your reward system, a group of structures that are activated whenever we experience something rewarding, almost like using an addictive drug. While it’s associated with learning and positive emotions, it can also be linked up with your brain’s use of dopamine and the feeling of craving and desire. Furthermore, spending so much emotional energy on drama and becoming roped into other people’s relationships leaves less room to focus on our own relationships, or even to build new ones.
It’s completely normal to fixate on shows that you love, but it’s unhealthy to become so absorbed in it that it affects your personal lives. This phenomenon is called parasocial relationships, which is where you start to feel like the contestants on the show are your actual friends. While it’s fun in theory, it has a negative effect more often than not because instead of putting this energy and effort into the loved ones around you, you get caught up in obsessing over people you’ll never meet.
“All of the drama and backstabbing definitely made it easier and more interesting to watch,” GCHS sophomore and avid “Love Island” watcher Gera Buchanan said. “The show gives the idea of moving on fast, like the person they were coupled up with left and then they moved on the next day. I feel like it has some influence on people my age when it comes to relationships, but you have to remember it’s just some reality show.”
Shows like “Love Island” are super entertaining, and it’s easy to get caught up in the drama when we spend so much time invested in other people’s lives; so much so that it’s even easier to forget to focus on the connections right in front of us. At the end of the day, real friendships and relationships matter way more than what’s happening on a screen, and making time for those will always feel more meaningful than just keeping up with the drama.
