Ancestors

Written by Furthering on 2025-01-19 at 07:12

As someone who doesn't want to get Covid or any of the other viruses floating around, I mask indoors.

But I have to disagree with the people who say "masking is easy" as a way to try to convince (or judge) others.

Setting aside the social aspects of it, masking is not easy, physically, for everyone. And if you have any sensitivity issues (HSP/highly sensitive person here🙋‍♀️ ), it might be somewhere on the spectrum of tolerable from most to least.

I've tried different masks, but no matter which ones, the straps cut into my ears, even the over-the-head ones. At the end of a long journey, I'm in some sort of pain or discomfort.

They're terrible for dealing with a runny nose. And my nose runs when I come inside from the cold even when I am not sick. You either have to break the seal around your mask to use a tissue, or you have to hope that you can keep your runny nose contained. Not a great choice either way.

They also tend to contribute to dry eye. Then, if you wear glasses, use earplugs/noise-cancelling headphones, or need anything else around your face/head, the combination starts to feel oppressive.

If masking is easy for you, that's great. I don't think it's easy for many people, and some people may not even be aware of or be able to express why masking is difficult for them in a society where we are often supposed to ignore or at least stay quiet about physical discomfort -- this might be true even if the majority were still masking.

So, two things can be true. Masking is important in various situations and according to various factors, but it's not necessarily easy. For me, the risk and discomfort of disease outweighs the physical discomfort of the mask, but it isn't like while I'm wearing it that I'm not longing to rip it off at the soonest safe opportunity.

[#]MaskUp #CovidIsNotOver #HSP #Neurodivergent

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Toot

Written by David J. Atkinson on 2025-01-19 at 09:17

@Furthering You are right. Masking is not easy for all the reasons you describe. However, when we compare the certain, personal impact of masking versus the chance and impact of contracting #COVID then masking comes in as the “easy” choice on that basis alone. The problem is that people are terrible at risk assessment and often biased towards preferred outcomes. So they underestimate the risk of getting COVID and the infection is said to be “not so bad” despite the evidence.

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Descendants

Written by Furthering on 2025-01-19 at 09:56

@meltedcheese Indeed, people are definitely bad at risk assessment, especially when the risk is "invisible."

But I also see how difficult it is for people to properly assess their risk -- even if they wanted to -- when the media and governments have downplayed or ignored the dangers of covid after a period of time.

I seek out this information, and I know more or less where to get it -- but I'm not most people. In surveying friends, especially those who get their information in languages with many fewer speakers than English has, much of what I take to be common knowledge would be news to them because it isn't being broadcast in mainstream information outlets.

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Written by David J. Atkinson on 2025-01-19 at 20:39

@Furthering Truth. I rarely find the kind of information I want in ordinary media. A life of science and curiosity has given me a habit of diving down the info rabbit holes!

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Written by Furthering on 2025-01-20 at 07:55

@meltedcheese I'm certainly grateful for the curious community here willing to share what they find and what they're tuned into. I might also be pretty clueless or spend loads of time searching for updates if I didn't have an an account here. The country I live in has long since given up on reporting even wastewater stats.

With my friends, I've learned to gauge their level of curiosity. Some won't (or don't know how to) seek out information for themselves, but they'll engage in conversation about it and take in new information. Others would rather not know. Still others will accept my sharing of a rare article or study. I do what I can keeping in mind what each person can handle.

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