Is Love Island USA season 7 an unlucky combo of diabolical villains, a realistic microcosm of Gen Z dating culture, or both? The season 7 cast is facing more and more ~artificial, boring, playing the game~ allegations because nearly a month into filming, not a single islander in that damn villa is in love (or remotely close). Sure, Nic and Cierra JUST closed off their relationship — about three seconds after he was drooling over Olandria, and Cierra almost ditched him for his curly-haired clone, Elan. The youth of America watching this show craved romance so badly that they had to go and invent Nicolandria. Internet artists spent hours crafting Oscar-worthy edits of Nic and Olandria all for NOTHING. We also prayed long and hard for a Cierra and Chelley romance, only to be let down during Pride month.

Why are we particularly desperate for these would-be epic romances? Hmm, perhaps it has something to do with the fact that our lives are completely devoid of that. God forbid a girl wants to live vicariously through reality TV stars! God forbid a girl watches Love Island to get a small dose of hope for her future dating life. But the Love Island USA season 7 cast can’t give us what we need because they are us. These bitches, who mostly range from 21 to 27 years old, are Gen Z through and through.

Walk with me as I break down how Love Island season 7 is a frighteningly accurate representation of Gen Z dating culture.

Does Love Island USA Season 7 Accurately Represent Gen Z Dating Culture?

The Connection Between Gen Z Dating Trends And Love Island USA Season 7

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Twenty-five episodes into season 7, we have exactly one closed-off couple (Nic and Cierra), and I obviously have my doubts about them. There aren’t any legit relationships in the villa because every 20-something on that island is entirely unfamiliar with the concept of commitment. In a Buzzfeed survey about Gen Z dating, one respondent put it bluntly: “I question the dating habits of people my age. There’s too much ambiguity with the ‘talking stage,’ and nobody is romantic anymore.” And they’re not wrong. We didn’t invent the talking stage or ~situationship~, but at this point, our generation is practically synonymous with casual, no-strings dating. Basically, we’re all single and vulnerable all-the-fucking-time.

A CNN opinion piece about Gen Z dating echoed this sentiment. “We’ve created our own small world in this vast universe of romance and love, one that normalizes fluidity and casualness in romantic partners — and reciprocal, regenerative love in friendships,” writes Sara Forastieri Vicente. That last part brings me to the infamous “sisterhood” this season. You know how people are complaining that that’s ruining the show, too? (Example: how the girls refused to call out Huda during the whole Jeremiah ordeal.) Yeah, that’s also a Gen Z thing. Fuck men or whoever we’re dating, but we would die for our girlies.

Sara also notes that our generation’s love lives were “derailed by a pandemic,” and now, many of us are “refraining from commitment by choice — one made somewhat out of fear, but mostly to prioritize self-care and existing interpersonal relationships.” We’re behind. We’re kind of awkward. And a lot of us appreciate the profound value of platonic relationships and don’t even attempt to prioritize monogamous relationships anymore.

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Personally, I’m 25 and I’ve never been in an actual relationship. (Only the dreaded talking stage/situationship/whatever you wanna call it.) Neither has Andreina, and neither has Ace, by the way! Belle-A and a few other islanders have notably only had one relationship. I can only speak for myself and my circle, but one relationship or zero relationship history seems pretty common for Gen Z-ers due to a variety of factors: dating app exhaustion, lack of people skills post-pandemic, and the overwhelmingly toxic dating culture. Namely, no one wants to get their ass up and commit these days!

We see this play out with Chelley, who keeps exploring her options even though she’s obviously obsessed with Ace. Then there’s Nic, who cycled through basically every other girl before finally deciding to be exclusive with Cierra. And don’t even get me started on T*ylor’s antics. I can’t talk about that without losing my shit.

We’re also a “do things for the plot/bit” generation, and I have a feeling that’s why many of these cast members applied. Especially Cierra, who literally had a whole Love Island-themed birthday party at one point. Realistically, lots of these people also just wanted the post-Love Island influencer career.

Is it reflective of the unserious and often frustrating Gen Z dating experience? Absolutely.