What ‘Love Island’ Gets Right About Dating

To a Boomer walking by, Love Island must look like the end of the world. Their kid, deteriorating on the couch, transfixed to a TV screen with slow-motion butts rippling like a wave pool. A slutty, neon Barbie dreamhouse, set to synth-pop. One flash of a girl in a bikini and heels, tonguing a footballer in slides and socks—and they’ve seen enough. Love Island is what would happen if you cut the intercourse out of a porn video and stretched the awkward lead-up over 38 hour-long episodes, airing once a day, for eight weeks straight, until you beg for mercy.