A Student Is Studying Love Island For Her University Degree
As Love Island becomes a distant memory, one dedicated student has decided to take stock of everything happening in and out of the villa.
Vicky Squires, a 20-year-old School of Media student in Birmingham, will focus on the second and third series of the reality show as part of her final year dissertation.
Her studies will examine whether the show influences young audiences when they tune in to watch confrontational arguments and scenes of a sexual nature. Chatting to the Birmingham Daily Mail, Vicky spoke about why she decided to choose the reality series as her subject:
I hope that my research will help others by highlighting how reality television influences the behaviour of others and just how powerful this can be, especially for younger audiences who might think that behaving in a similar manner will make them ”cool” and ”popular”.
The student was intrigued by how the show has turned into an empire with contestants earning millions of pounds, tonnes of merchandise featuring their names and a massive online following. Vicky hopes to create a virtual ethnography, to showcase the habits of viewers impacted by the culture of Love Island.
Love Island was ITV2's most-watched show in its programming history.
With fans slamming its emotional manipulation of Dani, the paucity of airtime Samira's relationship with Frankie received and the show's obsession with muscular bodies, Love Island will no doubt be a subject of focus for countless students returning to school and college in September.
"Back to School" content is brought to you by Currys PC World, Ireland's largest range of home electronics and household appliances at unbeatable prices.