For all the criticisms of Married At First Sight (MAFS), there’s one aspect of the reality show that doesn’t get enough praise: The way it emphasises shifting attitudes towards love, dating and relationships in the Aussie zeitgeist.
Admittedly, the show is a delicious concentrate of interesting scenes. The producers expertly filter out the dull, mundane moments we all have in our relationships and present to the audience only the best, most compelling bits. However, if we really listen to what the contestants are saying, what they’re looking for in a partner, their red flags and their dream relationship, we can learn a hell of a lot about Australia’s dating landscape.
Throughout the beloved reality series’ 10-year run, it has naturally shapeshifted, moulding in tandem with the attitudes held by the participants. According to expert John Aiken, this season will highlight the huge impact TikTok has had on dating and relationships — and not in a good way.
“This season we’ve really felt the impact of social media and TikTok influencing our cast, which then means they have quite extreme views on things that make relationships very problematic,” John told PEDESTRIAN.TV.
“That’s not something that we’ve ever come across before. So as experts, we’ve had to really hold a mirror up and get them to look at things in a different way outside the algorithm.”
Although TikTok dating trends might feel like a clever move for the producers to capitalise on for ~drama~ John and executive producer Alexandra Spurway, it was never a deliberate choice. Rather, it was something they couldn’t avoid.
“Even on the casting tour, meeting people, it became very apparent very early on that social media, and TikTok, was influencing how people navigate relationships, what they think about relationships and what their values are in a relationship. So we knew very early on that no matter what that was going to impact how they would tackle the experiment,” Alexandra explained.
“When we set down every year, the zeitgeist throws up what’s going to come on the show, not us describing what we’d like on the show,” John adds.
“So, if it’s revenge porn, OnlyFans, gaslighting, micro-cheating, or feminine and masculine energy and TikTok, that’s what shows up. It’s what makes it always fresh, always topical and I think that’s what makes it so popular. There’s an authenticity to the show.”
According to John, who has been an expert on the show since its Aussie conception in 2015, the shift has created a whole new host of relationship issues on the show and in his private practice outside of reality television.
“From tradwives to gender roles, warrior mindsets and living in a feminine or masculine energy. There’s a lot of therapy speak going on. Many talk about studies that I’ve never heard of, but they’ve come across them on their TikTok scrolling and decided ‘Yeah, I’m going to live my life that way because this person is beautiful and has 10 million followers so they must be right’,” he says.
As a result, John says that the experts go harder on the contestants than ever before.
“I think the experts go hard. We’ve always gone hard, but particularly some of the behaviour is quite outrageous, and some poor choices have to be called out,” he says.
I can’t wait to see how this unfolds.
Married At First Sight kicks off Monday, January 27, 2025 on Channel 9 and 9Now.
The post How TikTok Has Influenced The New Szn Of MAFS: ‘Not Something We’ve Ever Come Across’ appeared first on PEDESTRIAN.TV .
