A troubling question for Love Island
A COnTesTAnT on Love island left abruptly two weeks ago, under mysterious circumstances. niall Aslam, a 23-year-old student, now reveals that he exited the hit iTV2 show because he has a ‘secret battle’ with Asperger’s and hopes his honesty will help ‘raise awareness’.
naturally — toot-tootle-toot — a spokesman for the national Autistic society was quick to say that ‘by talking so openly about his diagnosis and the reasons he left Love island, niall has played an important role in bringing autism to the public’s attention’. Has he really? How?
niall (left) was, by all accounts, one of the show’s nicer contestants, but if his Asperger’s is an issue, why did he put himself forward for such potential humiliation in the first place?
Autism is a condition that affects social interaction. it is hard to see how being on a show in which contestants are supposed to couple up and are exposed to ridicule and sexual rejection, watched by a television audience of millions, could possibly help him.
shouldn’t one of Love island’s resident psychologists, who supposedly vet contestants, have tactfully suggested that this was not the show for him? no, and i will tell you why — because they are entertainment commissioners, not mental health workers.
A disquieting number of reality shows increasingly serve up mental disorder as amusement. Recently we have had programmes on eating disorders, and were also invited to laugh at members of the public suffering from obsessive compulsive disorders who kept cleaning their homes. This is not raising awareness, it is raising a titter.
Which brings us back to niall, and his issues, diagnosed in childhood. is he what doctors call the Worried Well; an average bloke who likes to put his difficulties, struggles and insecurities under some sort of catch-all mental health umbrella?
Or is his life truly a battle with his own mind? in which case, darling, don’t dock your boat at Love island any time soon.
Having ‘mental health issues’ is the latest, must- have affliction among the young. especially after a consultation with doctor Google. Think of people with mental health problems, who really suffer. none of this nonsense helps them.