2023 winter contestant Tanya Manhenga said she approved of the show’s new rule to keep stars’ accounts dormant during broadcast
(Picture: ITV)Love Island’s Tanya Manhenga has said she’s “all for” the ITV dating show’s new social media ban rules.
For the first time, the broadcaster has asked islanders to make their accounts “dormant” while they are in the villa so nothing can be published on their behalf and they avoid “the adverse effects of social media”.
Previously, friends and family members of the contestants would look after their social media accounts and publish content on their behalf while the show was aired.
The new measures were announced in December and introduced as part of ITV’s duty of care measures for 2023 ahead of the winter instalment in South Africa, presented by Maya Jama.
Weighing in on the rule change, Biomedical student Tanya, who was the first Islander to be announced for the new series, said she was initially unsure about the ban.
However, the 22-year-old says she appreciates it has been enforced to help safeguard Islanders and their families from potential negative commentary online.
She told journalists: “At the start I was like, ‘Oh, I don’t know’, because in the last season everybody’s Twitters were popping off.
“So at first it was a bit like ‘Oh, this might not be the best’ and I didn’t know how that’s gonna be.
“But then I thought about it in like the way of trolls and if there’s a way to lessen the trolls that you get, I’m all for it. Surely, it should be a good thing. So I’m not mad."
Fellow Islander Lana Jenkins said she didn’t believe the rule change was “a bad thing” and appreciated that her friends and family don’t have to deal with the "pressures" of managing her social media accounts.
The 25-year-old shared: "I think it’s not a bad thing at all. It’s nice that you have time away from Instagram and, also, your friends and family don’t have the pressures of it.
“I think it’s a lot to deal with as well as having to watch your friend or your daughter go on telly as well as running an account.
“I prefer it that they just relax and just watch it and just crack on and then as soon as I’m out I’ll be back on Instagram so it’ll be fine.”
