When did Love Island become more about fame than fun? | Louis Staples

Today the ITV show primarily attracts contestants seeking followers, not friendship - no wonder viewers are switching off

Love Island is back, which means a new squad of impeccably preened future spokespeople for the fast-fashion industry has entered TV's most famous villa looking for love - and Instagram followers.

Once again, audiences have tuned in with the hope of becoming completely obsessed with the minutiae of the Islanders' lives in the villa, only to forget most of their names once they leave. But according to overnight figures, Love Island lost 1 million viewers on its summer 2022 series. Even with the 300,000 that have since been added to incorporate catch-up, the overall figure was still a significant drop on 2022 and around half the number who watched 2019's series launch.

Louis Staples writes about the internet, culture and society