If masks are made mandatory in England, will this put you off high street shopping?

[IHTC]

Y/N

Nah. I don't particularly like wearing them but I'm not going to let it stop me doing things I enjoy.

I'm in Scotland so mandatory now.

I will wear one, but find them hot, uncomfortable and difficult to breathe (have asthma) also find them steaming up my glasses or riding up my face so end up touch it my face far more than normal. So for the foreseeable future I will be limiting my shopping to the supermarket only as I just want to wear it for as short a time as possible so having a wander round the shops currently just isn't fun for me right now.

Yes.

It would stress out the DC, who are already struggling due to anxiety about corona, and I wouldn't want to make it worse.

I’m already shopping exclusively online for everything. I don’t like being around people in masks or wearing one myself, and all the queues and systems make it feel like an unpleasant experience. I’m not complaining about it, just opting out.

Thanks all. Apologies, I didn't realise there was an option to enable voting.

@EmpressLangClegSpartacus I would personally be put off from visiting the high Street. I had to wear a mask for a trip to the opticians a couple of weeks ago. My glasses kept steaming up even though the wire at the top of the mask was moulded around my face shape and I found myself constantly touching and moving it which is of course a big no no. During the eye test itself, the optician asked me to remove it as the steam I was generating was making it difficult for her to look at the back of my eyes . To add, at 33 weeks pregnant I'm finding myself getting breathless at the best of times without the addition of a face covering so I certainly wouldn't put myself through it in the short term at the very least.

I would revert back to essential shopping only and shopping online.

Yes, I wore a mask on the train the other day (20 minutes) and it got hot and annoying very quickly. I can’t imagine it enhances the shopping experience!

It would make me go, whereas I won't now, still shopping online

Yes.

I wouldn’t be likely to go, just on line shop.

I remember when wearing a seat belt in the car become compulsory. There was the same outcry from people who said they couldn’t possibly wear one because they were

Pregnant
Overweight
Young
Elderly
Disabled
Claustrophobic
Didn’t believe in them
Thought it was an infringement of their rights
Thought it would spoil The experience of driving

Thought it Would increase bad driving because people felt invulnerable

Yes, I would wear one if I absolutely had to go into a shop but I hate wearing it so I'd avoid if possible.

yes

No - it's the way I'm shopping already! The kids have their own masks as well and have loudly passed comment on how the infection risk goes down if you wear them, while staring fixedly at people who aren't

Yes, unless it's impossible I'd rather social distance.

Tend to find mask wearers less likely to social distance and more likely to wear gloves and touch everything, both of which makes me feel uncomfortable

@ContessaferJones

No - it's the way I'm shopping already! The kids have their own masks as well and have loudly passed comment on how the infection risk goes down if you wear them, while staring fixedly at people who aren't

Better hope the people they’re ‘staring fixedly’ at aren’t those who can’t wear one due to a medical condition/phobia/PTSD or any of the other recognised exemptions, as that would be really rude and potentially upsetting.

@PANDORA

I don't think most people are saying they will refuse to wear masks, they are saying they will limit their activities to only those that are essential because they find mask wearing unpleasant.

In you seatbelt example it would be like people saying, "I'll wear a seat belt but I find it uncomfortable so I'll probably only use the car when I really have to".

I'm not sure why that's so controversial?

Yes. I don’t like them, I find them uncomfortable. Doesn’t mean I don’t think they shouldn’t be worn, but it does mean I won’t enjoy shopping, so I won’t do it unless I have to.

@PAND0RA

I remember when wearing a seat belt in the car become compulsory. There was the same outcry from people who said they couldn’t possibly wear one because they were

Pregnant
Overweight
Young
Elderly
Disabled
Claustrophobic
Didn’t believe in them
Thought it was an infringement of their rights
Thought it would spoil The experience of driving

Thought it Would increase bad driving because people felt invulnerable

The alternative to driving is public transport which is typically poor so the driving analogy doesn't really fit as the alternative to shopping in person is home delivery which for most areas is bloody good especially with lots of next or same day delivery. In fact distant selling gives you lots of benefits over shopping in person. For example if I buy a sale item in a shop some will only exchange for a voucher but the same item bought on line is refunded if returned. The absence of fitting rooms is a problem because you can't try anything on whereas at home you can take your time. And we have had time to get used to online shopping in lockdown. If the government make shopping in person more uncomfortable than it is now I can see the high street struggling even more.

Yes. I already don’t go shopping I just do it online.

@PAND0RA

I remember when wearing a seat belt in the car become compulsory. There was the same outcry from people who said they couldn’t possibly wear one because they were

Pregnant
Overweight
Young
Elderly
Disabled
Claustrophobic
Didn’t believe in them
Thought it was an infringement of their rights
Thought it would spoil The experience of driving

Thought it Would increase bad driving because people felt invulnerable

Except people on this thread aren’t saying ‘I find them uncomfortable so I’ll do what I want anyway and refuse to wear them’. They’re saying that due to finding them uncomfortable (for whatever reason) they won’t go into shops. Which is a perfectly valid choice to make.

It's maybe more analogous to cycle helmets. Make you feel safer, not necessarily the case that they do. Personally, they just make me not want to cycle as it reminds me it's a horrible activity with a high risk of death. I'd cycle somewhere with good cycle lanes where you don't need helmets but that's because the cycling infrastructure makes it safer (Denmark and the Netherlands are the only places I will cycle). So ... no masks but everyone keeps their distance, washes hands, low cases. Fine. You lot all head out in skanky masks. Forget it.

Yes. I won't wear a mask, so if they are compulsory, I won't shop.

[quote Sunshinegirl82]@PANDORA

I don't think most people are saying they will refuse to wear masks, they are saying they will limit their activities to only those that are essential because they find mask wearing unpleasant.

In you seatbelt example it would be like people saying, "I'll wear a seat belt but I find it uncomfortable so I'll probably only use the car when I really have to".

I'm not sure why that's so controversial?[/quote]
Exactly. Completely agree.

It's ok to say you don't like wearing them. And it's ok to choose not to go into shops if wearing one is mandatory or to limit shopping etc as a result of having to wear one.

It's not saying you won't wear one, it's saying you don't like it therefore will limit the number of times you have to.

As you say, not exactly controversial.

Yes. Definitely
(Doesn't mean I don't support making masks mandatory)

Mandatory in Scotland, been to shop twice and it has made me want to go to the shops less, the mask is uncomfortable, makes me quite panicky and would rather continue ordering online. It also steams up glasses which is annoying

Drivingdownthe101 I do tell them not to say such things....