On the wearing of facemasks.

[onalongsabbatical]

How do people think the widespread adoption of facemasks is going to affect human culture and interaction? Personally I think it might turn out to be even more profound than social distancing. Reading people’s faces and expressions is so vital to communication, if we’re all wearing masks in public I think it’s going to change us. I also think for vulnerable people it’s even more significant – if you suffer from anxiety for instance, or for children, or people with dementia, it’ll be harder for whole groups of people who rely on the visual signals of communication more, to deal with and get comfortable with. And of course there's the fact that for some people it will cause real physical difficulties, people with other respiratory conditions for instance. Very interested in people’s thoughts on this.

People will adapt

I'm hoping there will be a trend towards see through masks. These exist but are not used often.

I'm deaf, I can't adapt and neither can millions of others. So if this is long term, at least public services will need to consider it. Social model of disability and that.

Lip readers will really suffer.

They're very popular where I live (Asia) and many were wearing them before the Coronavirus crisis. To protect themselves against flu or cold or to protect others. And some women, according to DH, because they had no time to do their make up!

I personally think a lot of people like wearing them because it creates a distance between them and the rest of the world. The society where I live in is famous for people wanting to avoid contact with strangers at nearly every cost.

I’m partially deaf and didn’t realise quite how much I relied on lip-reading to understand what people say to me - and the muffling effect of face masks makes it even worse. I can’t adapt - it’s as simple as that

I have very real auditory processing issues - can't even watch tv without subtitles and masks make interaction difficult. Will have to hope people start carrying around whiteboards 😂

Terrible for those of us who can’t tell what people are saying without being able to see their mouths

I am 90% deaf and I can't adapt either. Everyone would have to learn sign language and I can't see that happening anytime soon.

I had to go into my health store yesterday for some supplies and it was so difficult that the assistant took the mask off.

I don't think they will become a mainstay. I'd only wear one if on public transport. I wore one in a small shop the other day and I was the only one. Might be different in big cities, but even the photos of open air restaurants that have reopened in europe and only about half the people are wearing them and not many while walking around the streets.

I have seen pictures of ones with see-through pieces but my own masks are homemade and I wouldn't know how to make one. I suspect they are even hotter too. Hopefully the need for them will be short.

Mistressiggi I'm also unsure of how effective they are. Limping chicken had a piece on them the other day.

I don’t like wearing them and I know I’m not alone in finding them uncomfortable. I don’t think they’ll become something that the majority wear long term.

I agree, they won’t be around long term. Saying people will just adapt shows a total lack of understanding about how hard it is for people with lower levels of hearing.

If masks became compulsory and /or a social norm, I would avoid places where they should be worn unless absolutely necessary. (I have a skin condition and anything that makes my face hotter/damper/sweatier aggravates it.)

Hopefully mask wearing will only be needed short term.
What is short term - maybe 6 months to 3 years [ouch]

Face visors are also effective.
More so in some situations and less so in others.
But will be invaluable for people with a level of deafness.

People who can't wear a mask for medical reasons could get a badge like blue badges for parking. Nobody needs to know why you can't wear a mask. They do however need to accept that you can't and make an effort not to breath on you.

They do however need to accept that you can't and make an effort not to breath on you.

It's the opposite way round- they protect the wearer.

I'd forgotten about visors - they seem like a much better option to me for all sorts of reasons. I also hadn't stopped to think about lip-readers. It really needs a lot of thought, doesn't it?
Visors would solve most of the problems - can anyone see a downside to them? You can see face, mouth, expressions, breathe more easily I guess. They'd have be to kept scrupulously clean.

*dont protect the wearer

Paper about face shields
jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2765525?widget=personalizedcontent&previousarticle=2764955

They are good for preventing incoming germs but the wearers breath just drops out the bottom. So some good, some bad.

Hopefully Flam if all those who can wear face coverings do so it won't matter too much.
Face coverings do protect the wearer a tiny bit. If we manage to get to 80%+ compliance. Then the 10% or so who can't plus the % who won't won't cause spread rates to go up.

We are unlikely to totally stop spread, we just need to keep it slow. Would be nice to have hospitals back to functioning near normal plus being able to provide oxygen treatment for those who need it for Covid-19 patients.

I wonder about 80% compliance, I think that might be optimistic. I heard a couple of days ago the Isle of Wight app has only had a 50% population of the island download it. Over a week since launch I think - I would have expected more, I think 50% is disappointing. Might be more by now?
I can't imagine 80% of people wearing masks in public. I will no prob.

A new study today showed that surgical face masks reduced the spread of Covid by 75%. It is currently being peer reviewed but looks promising. Why on earth wouldn’t we try it? It’s either that or keep locking down!

Depends how public i guess

I wouldn’t want to wear it walking around but would obviously be ok in a shop

Cafe/restaurants would be difficult

But i would imagine that it wouldn’t be forever...well I’d hope not

I think to a certain extent people would wear masks To reassure others

Face mask no i wont, face covering as the guidelines stipulate - no problem