This summer, a hot new bombshell entered the hearts of Gen Zers — and it turned out to be none other than a reality dating show.
Between romance and drama, Love Island USA Season 8 gave audiences the fantasy of a perfect summer while simultaneously revealing the issues with Gen Z’s current dating dilemma.
The show takes a group of young singles and flies them out to Fiji to live in the iconic villa for a month, airing their romantic escapades in real time to an audience of millions. The group participates in challenges to test their connections and hopefully find true love.
Michael Basford, a sophomore studying undecided, watched this season since its premiere on June 2.
Basford said he believes people watch the show because people want to find love, and they want to watch other people find it if they can’t — but attractiveness pulls viewers as well.
"I'm not gonna lie, all the guys are hot, all the girls are hot,” Basford said. “It’s just visually good to watch."
In 2025, Love Island became Peacock’s most-watched original series. This year, the show reached 824 million viewing minutes within its first three days.
Love Island ran for 6 weeks this summer, airing episodes daily and allowing viewers to participate by voting for their favorite couples.
In the series finale, which aired on July 12, America voted for its favorite couple, Trinity and Bryce to win the $100,000 cash prize.
"Most of them go on there to find love,” Basford said. “They’re in their late 20s, and I feel like they need to lock in by that time."
Basford said Gen Z doesn’t go on dates very often, instead choosing to “hang out” spontaneously with their romantic interests.
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He added that his favorite aspect of the show is the drama, especially when the islanders go to Casa Amor, and can choose to explore new relationships or stay loyal to their partner.
Brianna Carroll, a sophomore studying nursing, believes viewers can learn lessons about both love and friendship from the show.
"I notice it's really hard for people our age to find love," Carroll said. "A lot of people are scared of settling down just because of what they see on social media."
Carroll said she believes Gen Z has grown scared of commitment after seeing online what can go wrong in relationships.
College campuses have been easily compared to Love Island because most students know each other — and they’re all trying to date at the same time, Carroll said.
Carroll added that she enjoyed this season because the contestants were "real people" instead of influencers, making the connections feel more authentic and relatable. She said she enjoyed watching the female friendships blossom and the contestants take care of each other in the villa.
"It's so much fun to watch people fall in love in real time," Carroll said.
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Amanda Romero, a sophomore studying kinesiology, has watched Love Island for three years after it became popular on the internet. She said a strong couple in the villa requires good communication, just like in the real world.
"If they have the right intentions going into the show and pursuing that afterwards, I feel like people do really have the potential to find love from the show," Romero said.
If someone isn't being truthful on the show, audiences will react to it in real time, something that Romero said drastically affects how the contestants are perceived. She also said a lot of issues within the couples this season could have been resolved with proper communication.
"Some of them did not truly respect their couples in a way that they should have, and I feel like that's been the main one I've seen (online)," Romero said.
Romero added that, in some ways, Love Island accurately represents dating culture amongst young people. However, she said most students aren't engaging with multiple people at a time to such intimate extents.
"With the different types of people that are on the show, I feel like you can look at it like the real world,” Carroll said. “There's gonna be people who play you … you have to kind of explore your options too before you settle down with one person."
Edited by Dhemi Bell, Natalia Jarrett and Ellis Preston.
Reach the reporter at ajanusee@asu.edu and follow @lexijanusee on X.
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Lexi Janusee is in her second semester with the State Press. She is a freshman studying Journalism and Mass Communications with a minor in Theatre. Lexi also works for Blaze Radio, and is an on-air host for Open Mic.
