Love is Blind is an ongoing Netflix reality show which recently aired its ninth and latest season. The concept introduces hopeful singles to each other behind a wall, and the “experiment” is to understand whether singles can create a strong enough connection through a wall, get engaged without seeing each other, and conclude the season with a successful wedding. After the blind engagement, they are thrust into the real world to live together for a month.

The participants are incentivized to remain together until the end of the show, despite possible conflict. In the past, there have been lawsuits and allegations of partner abuse, of production not “letting” victims leave before the end of the show. These ropes have been loosened in the newer seasons. 

However, any production that showcases such strong emotions of vulnerability, love and intense commitment is bound to have an effect on mental health, particularly with the tight deadlines and unique mix of personalities. We see this effect on participant behavior, where activated childhood and attachment wounds sometimes create conflict and harmful interactions. 

This latest season featured a participant, Edmond, who had been in and out of the foster care system throughout his childhood. Still carrying unresolved relational trauma, pain and sensitivity, he coupled with Kalybriah, a social worker. Even after displaying several extreme and tension-riddled interactions with both parties experiencing emotional distress, Netflix did not provide professional support or intervention to the participants. They were not provided individual or relationship counselling. 

Prioritizing content over participant wellbeing has been a prevalent theme with media production companies since the dawn of the industry. This new iteration of exploitation infiltrates and exposes such personal and vulnerable distress to the world in ways that could thwart someone’s healing and mental health for the foreseeable future. 

In Psychological research involving participants, ethics regulations exist to eliminate exploitation. Ethics also ensures that even if there is some distress and risk involved, this is resolved by the end of the study, in addition to the research ultimately serving the population it samples. Love is Blind uses the “experiment” marketing angle, yet upholds none of the ethical requirements required in scientific experiments. This harms the participants, the viewers, and the larger society through sensationalized examples of unhealthy emotional expression.

Learn more about Love is Blind here: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11704040/?ref_=fn_t_1

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Feature Image: by Sandy Millar on Unsplash