More than just Corona
“You can’t see my pimples” – and other reasons why people love the mask
The mask has meanwhile become an everyday object
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For many people, mouth and nose protection is an effective, but rather annoying means of fighting a pandemic. But there are also people who have learned to love the mask.
At the beginning of the pandemic it was still unusual: to always wear a mask with which it is sometimes difficult to breathe and under which facial expressions are difficult to see. Mouth and nose protection is now part of everyday life; most of them have gotten used to it, even if it is still a nuisance at times. But there are also people who have learned to love the mask – not only because it protects against corona.
In a thread on the online platform Reddit, various users told why they now like to wear a mask in everyday life. First of all, there are health reasons: It is not for nothing that mouth and nose protection has been worn for some time in other parts of the world. “I have a pollen allergy, the mask helps me enormously,” someone writes. One asthma patient writes: “I can breathe much better because I no longer have to smell everyone’s perfume.”
Mask protects against infection – not only with Corona
The mask not only protects against infection with corona, but also against other viruses and diseases. In some cases, this can even be life-saving. For example, a woman who claims to have just had a donor heart transplanted: “I have to wear a mask in public for a year. Every tiny infection that most people would easily shake off can be fatal for me during this time.”
Some users would like that even after the end of the pandemic and the abolition of the mask requirement, more people with mouth and nose protection go outside – at least if they have symptoms of illness. For example, contagion could be avoided during the flu and cold seasons.
“I’ve never felt so comfortable in public”
But the masks can also have a very practical use – after all, people are comfortable in themselves. “I can talk to myself without anyone seeing my mouth moving,” says one user happily. Others see it as an advantage of the masks that they no longer have to make up part of their face. “You can’t see my pimples,” someone writes. And of course the mask keeps your mouth and nose nice and warm in winter.
When interacting with other people, the mask is often seen as a hindrance: it covers part of the face, makes facial expressions difficult to recognize, a smile loses its effect and some are acoustically difficult to understand. But some like that. A supermarket cashier writes: “I can grimace when customers annoy me without it having any effect.” For an autistic person, the mask makes life easier: “I find it much easier to be with other people because I don’t have to constantly worry about what my face is doing.” Another person who suffers from an anxiety disorder sees this as an advantage: “I’m outside, but I’m still in my own shelter. I’ve never felt so comfortable in public.”
Source: Reddit