Youths and face masks

[UltimateWednesday]

This, I'm sure, depends very much on where you live but here we seem to have three kinds of mask wearers:

• People wearing them for sensible CV related reasons
• Young men and teenagers wearing them so they are unrecognisable on CCTV
• Teens wearing them as a fashion item so they look "hard" like someone who doesn't want to be recognised by CCTV, although in reality they're only up to mild mischief at most.

Honestly, round here there's far more youngsters wearing masks than anyone else.

It doesn't seem long since people were campaigning for face coverings in public to be banned for security reasons and now we have this.

Have you noticed it where you live? Is it a price we have to pay?

If my DD, DS and their mates (16 and older ) are anything to go by, this is an incredibly 'adult' generation. Eating healthy, getting enough sleep, not smoking, exercising, respecting sb elses health by wearing a community mask + the influence of Korean and Japanese culture - it seems to be the done thing.

The fact that people in full time education travel free on public transport helps: no mask - no travel and shops, activities etc. demand coverings so compliance seems to be really high - where I am.

@BlusteryLake

Jesus, teenagers can't win can they? If they wear a mask when with their friends they're up to no good, if they don't then they are selfish bastards trying to kill off old people by coughing on them.

^^. I agree - we are lucky to have many lovely young people. It's annoying how people are always on their back. These young people are the future

So do I tell my responsible 16 and 18 yo to not wear the masks they usually as for when they occasionally go out to meet their mates (who they didn't see for months), because people will be intimidated and assume that they are up to no good?

Honestly I feel so sorry for these kids - their lives have been turned upside down, they have been treated appallingly badly by the government, had their education disrupted, their important exams removed, their social lives and support systems vanish overnight, and when they try to do the right thing they are accused of criminal behaviour.

I hope you are more supportive with the 'troubled' teens you work with.

Yep often seen gangs of older teenager youths hanging about in hooded tops, black addidas masks, or snoods pulled right up to their eyes. Only seem to pull them down to smoke weed.

Yes it's the new hoody.

I'm laughing at some of the responses here. As if it couldn't possibly be true.

Ah this explains something.
I made some cloth masks from bandanas. When I offered one to DS(23) he said he couldn't possibly wear it as he would look like a gang member. He does wear plain disposable masks when out as do all his friends for the right reasons.

Teenagers in my area aren't out much. They don't have anywhere to go.
Mask wearers are mostly elderly and some middle-aged, not counting bus passengers (who are especially likely to be elderly). Maybe 5% of everyone in or near the shops has a face cover on.

The two kinds of young people I've seen wearing them are middle class youth (seen since early March) and BAME youth generally. Amongst any middle classes there will be an element of affiliation - "this is what we've been told is correct to do, we will do it" and amongst BAME persons of any class there will be a strong element of specific health concern.

I see few other people wearing masks at all, including amongst the elderly.

My teenager is far more pro mask than me because he feels it's the right thing to do. I hope no one thinks he's wearing it to look hard..