‘The Love Island Effect’? The Reciprocal Relationship between Body Pressure from Watching Love Island and Engagement in Body Change Strategies

Love Island is a popular reality dating series that has faced significant criticism for consistently casting contestants with highly idealized bodies. There has been widespread concern that these casting choices may inadvertently pressure young viewers to internalize unrealistic body ideals and engage in body change strategies to conform to them. However, to date, no longitudinal research has explored this possibility. Using three-wave panel data collected during the 2023 series of Love Island UK (N = 344; M age = 20.42, SD = 1.98), this study examined the reciprocal within-person relationships between body pressure from watching Love Island and engagement in - or desire to engage in - three body change strategies (i.e., weight loss, muscle gain, cosmetic surgery). Nearly all (97.38%) participants reported at least some degree (i.e., M > 1.00) of body pressure from watching Love Island, and fluctuations in body pressure followed a positive developmental trajectory across the series. Body pressure at the midpoint of the series predicted heightened engagement in weight loss and muscle gain strategies, and increased desire for cosmetic surgery, at the end of the series. Furthermore, heightened desire for cosmetic surgery at the beginning of the series predicted increased body pressure during the series. Results therefore suggest that prolonged exposure to highly idealized bodies on Love Island may harm young viewers’ body image, to the point that many feel compelled to alter aspects of their body.