# Continuing to keep masking for your own reasons **URL:** \ **Category:** The Quarantine Zone\ **Tags:** covid-quarantine\ **Created:** [May 11, 2021, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/continuing-to-keep-masking-for-your-own-reasons/941850 "2021-05-11T16:32:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![teelabrown](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/teelabrown/32/8412_2.png) [@teelabrown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teelabrown)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2021, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/continuing-to-keep-masking-for-your-own-reasons/941850/41 "2021-05-12T16:43:36Z")
Even if this pandemic disappeared tomorrow, I’d continue wearing a mask when I fly. I think two out of three times that I travel on a plane, I come down with a bad cold a few days later, sometimes right during my vacation. It sucks to be sick when you’re off on holiday. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2021, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/continuing-to-keep-masking-for-your-own-reasons/941850/42 "2021-05-12T17:09:05Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Trying to wrap my brain around these two statements. > > Someone who wears a mask is an “aggressor”… hmmm… “the society we were born into”…hmmm… > > …pause… > > Ok. Never mind. Can’t be done. It’s easy if you’re a right-wing loon: > The all-white all-male completely disease-free world I was born into was perfect. Anyone trying to change any of that is out to ruin my world. They’re attacking my world and me in it. They’re aggressors! I should shoot 'em. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2021, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/continuing-to-keep-masking-for-your-own-reasons/941850/43 "2021-05-12T17:24:29Z")
I humbly salute your twisted mind. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2021, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/continuing-to-keep-masking-for-your-own-reasons/941850/44 "2021-05-12T17:25:07Z")
I wear a mask even in the outdoors when nobody else is around. I do it because it is the socially acceptable thing to do. Also, it is good to keep the habit of putting one on reflexively, because I don’t want to absent-mindedly forget to wear it when it _is_ important. I’m not fully vaccinated, I get my second shot in a few days so a couple of weeks from now I should be as immune as I’ll ever be. That won’t change my habits. The only way I’ll stop wearing a mask around is when the majority of society has moved on from it. I’m not a germaphobe. I believe in hygiene and I use protective gear when my activities require it but I am not in favor of living in a bubble all of the time. I don’t think it’s mentally healthy to try to insulate yourself from every possibility of getting sick all the time. The pandemic is an exceptional circumstance, something we haven’t seen in a century, and something I hope to not see again in my lifetime. I’m in favor of protecting people and I try to protect myself. But I don’t plan on wearing a mask all the time forever once the pandemic passes. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2021, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/continuing-to-keep-masking-for-your-own-reasons/941850/45 "2021-05-12T17:36:40Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > I wear a mask even in the outdoors when nobody else is around. I do it because it is the socially acceptable thing to do. Also, it is good to keep the habit of putting one on reflexively, because I don’t want to absent-mindedly forget to wear it when it _is_ important. Seems people are creatures of new habits as well as old: [CNN Article](https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/09/health/cdc-mask-indoor-guidance-gupta-wellness/index.html) > But neuroscience would probably add in another reason. After a year of wearing masks, our brains have simply been trained to do it. It’s become a habit. > > Each time we engage in regular new behaviors, like mask-wearing, our brains actually change – they slightly rewire to accommodate that new experience. Specifically, that experience causes the formation of new dendrites – which are segments of brain cells that receive electrical impulses. With repeated behavior and learning, existing dendrites strengthen, they make more connections which then become the normal pattern of transmission in our brains. It’s called neuroplasticity. > > For over a year, we’ve been engaging in regular behaviors linked to the pandemic – like mask wearing and elbow-bumping and more frequent handwashing – and because of this, we have rewired our brains, entrenching these habits. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2021, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/continuing-to-keep-masking-for-your-own-reasons/941850/46 "2021-05-12T17:54:56Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > Seems people are creatures of new habits as well as old: > [CNN Article](https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/09/health/cdc-mask-indoor-guidance-gupta-wellness/index.html) > > > But neuroscience would probably add in another reason. After a year of wearing masks, our brains have simply been trained to do it. It’s become a habit. > > > > Each time we engage in regular new behaviors, like mask-wearing, our brains actually change – they slightly rewire to accommodate that new experience. Specifically, that experience causes the formation of new dendrites – which are segments of brain cells that receive electrical impulses. With repeated behavior and learning, existing dendrites strengthen, they make more connections which then become the normal pattern of transmission in our brains. It’s called neuroplasticity. > > > > For over a year, we’ve been engaging in regular behaviors linked to the pandemic – like mask wearing and elbow-bumping and more frequent handwashing – and because of this, we have rewired our brains, entrenching these habits. Interestingly, I haven’t work a mask very much at all over the past year: - I’ve been to my office maybe half a dozen times, generally for a half-day. - Briefly went into a UPS store to drop off packages for shipment a few times. Mask was on for maybe two minutes each time. - Ordered carryout from a local restaurant over the internet several times, picked up order from their patio. Mask was on for maybe two minutes each time. Other than that, I haven’t hung out with anybody or gone into stores or restaurants at all. For me, the “regular new behavior” is mostly just social distancing. It’s going to take some time to feel comfortable not doing that, with or without a mask. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2021, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/continuing-to-keep-masking-for-your-own-reasons/941850/47 "2021-05-12T18:02:31Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > I’m not a germaphobe. Neither am I, in fact I’m pretty much the opposite. Wuhan erupted while we were in St Martin in January 2020. I remember on the flight down, there was a guy on our plane wiping his area (tray, seat,etc) with hand sanitizer. People were whispering to each other, pointing and snickering at him. Turns out he was the wise man on the flight, weeks ahead of his time. Now I look at strangers at the grocery store and I’m repulsed by them if they aren’t masked. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2021, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/continuing-to-keep-masking-for-your-own-reasons/941850/48 "2021-05-12T18:04:18Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > Other than that, I haven’t hung out with anybody or gone into stores or restaurants at all. For me, the “regular new behavior” is mostly just social distancing. It’s going to take some time to feel comfortable not doing that, with or without a mask. That’s pretty much been our life for the past 16 months. We’ve been to grocery stores less times than my wife and I can count on both hands. Went into a restaurant once for the first time last week. Worked exclusively from home. No travel. No visiting friends/relatives. Had our son home from the military once over Thanksgiving and were quite apprehensive about that. So we wear masks as circumstances demand, and it’s not very often given that we haven’t really been many public places at all. We go for walks but we don’t wear masks doing it because it doesn’t seem necessary in the burbs. So not wearing a mask is going to come pretty naturally once that is permitted indoors. That said, keeping a social distance is just a nice bonus regardless of what relaxation of mask policies emerge. But over time, even the distancing habits for most people won’t last, I’m sure. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2021, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/continuing-to-keep-masking-for-your-own-reasons/941850/49 "2021-05-12T18:06:04Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Now I look at strangers at the grocery store and I’m repulsed by them if they aren’t masked. That is really disturbing. Everyone is masked up in stores around here with one exception I’ve seen a few months ago in a Target. She got several people yelling at her including this idiot. (I should know better, sometimes I don’t) ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2021, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/continuing-to-keep-masking-for-your-own-reasons/941850/50 "2021-05-12T18:52:42Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > Everyone is masked up in stores around here with one exception I’ve seen a few months ago in a Target. In February I needed something that I knew Walmart would have, so I stopped at one. It was the worst mask 😷 situation I’ve seen in a store. Even employees were walking around with their masks on their chins. I bought what I needed and got the hell out. In my Jeep I immediately wrote up what I saw, on Google Maps IIRC. One star and a long rant, it ended up getting comments in agreement. I swore I’d not return to that store, indeed I haven’t. ---
**Author:** ![Saintly\_Loser](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saintly_loser/32/4045_2.png) [@Saintly\_Loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saintly_Loser)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2021, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/continuing-to-keep-masking-for-your-own-reasons/941850/51 "2021-05-13T15:06:32Z")
I’m vaccinated, and well past the two-week effectiveness date. Nonetheless, I’m still wearing a mask almost all the time when I’m outside my home. Two masks, usually. And always double-masking when I’m indoors, like in a store or church or anything like that. And especially on those infrequent occasions when I have to take the NYC subway. And always with at least a KN95 or KF94, and more recently, with a real N95, which have been getting easier and easier to find. The only exception I’ve made is when I’m getting around the city by bicycle (which is nearly every day). I’m generally more than six feet from anyone else, and the duration of closer contacts, if there are any, is literally less than a second. It was never really possible for me to ride the bike with two masks, but until now, I always wore one. But I’ve loosened up a bit with that. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2021, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/continuing-to-keep-masking-for-your-own-reasons/941850/52 "2021-05-13T15:13:05Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > I wear a mask even in the outdoors when nobody else is around. I do it because it is the socially acceptable thing to do. If nobody else is around who is accepting it? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2021, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/continuing-to-keep-masking-for-your-own-reasons/941850/53 "2021-05-13T18:47:10Z")
Well, just because I don’t see someone that doesn’t mean they aren’t there watching and judging my maskless visage. 😃 And as I said I try to keep it a habit. 😷 (But not a nun’s habit, I don’t think it’s appropriate to turn that into a mask.) ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2021, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/continuing-to-keep-masking-for-your-own-reasons/941850/54 "2021-05-14T16:55:10Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > (But not a nun’s habit, I don’t think it’s appropriate to turn that into a mask.) If your face is behind a nun’s habit, it’d better be a Halloween costume. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2021, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/continuing-to-keep-masking-for-your-own-reasons/941850/55 "2021-05-15T10:41:28Z")
Excellent article here: > **[Public health experts: Why we're going to keep wearing our masks | CNN](https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/14/opinions/cdc-new-mask-guidance-concerns-holtgrave-rosenberg/index.html)** > > David Holtgrave and Eli Rosenberg write that the CDC's announcement on Thursday that it was safe for Covid-vaccinated persons to cast aside masks and social distancing in outdoor and indoor spaces, with few exceptions, was not well articulated by the... ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2021, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/continuing-to-keep-masking-for-your-own-reasons/941850/56 "2021-05-16T19:06:58Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > If your face is behind a nun’s habit, it’d better be a Halloween costume. And if it’s under a nun’s habit you’d better be Paddy, the parish tinker. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/continuing-to-keep-masking-for-your-own-reasons/941850.md?page=2)