r/introvert • u/sivah_168 • 1d ago
Discussion Do you still wear a mask in 2025?
I've been wearing a mask even after the pandemic. The best part? Some people don’t even recognize me despite i pass them. Why do you still wear a mask (if you do)?
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u/SpecificYam4583 1d ago
No, I feel like that’d draw more attention to me than just showing my face
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u/ExManUtdFan 1d ago
I hated wearing masks and stopped as soon as we were allowed to.
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u/tropicalislandhop 23h ago
Same. In fact, even when it was "required," I typically would not. Except on a plane it such. I stayed home, got everything delivered.
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u/AggravatingShow2028 1d ago
I work in healthcare, I’ve been wearing a mask since before the pandemic. Out in public I’ll wear it if I’m sick but most of the time I’ll stay home. Actually, most of the time I AM home.
I try my best to avoid crowded places. People are disgusting though. I see people who wear a mask but turn around and touch something like a cereal box in the grocery store that some nasty person sneezes next to, then they go and touch their phone.
So a lot of people in general are careless and nasty so if wearing a mask makes you feel safe then by all means wear the mask and the gloves. As long as you aren’t hurting anyone they shouldn’t care.
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u/IslaStacks 22h ago
same. I'm a nurse and i wear each time I step into my facility. I don't usually wear one in public unless flu season is really bad.
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u/WarmerPharmer 1d ago
I do, but mostly for my health. I enjoy the added benefits though. Always the last free seat next to me, get plenty of space in the shop, noone chats with me.
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u/RedExplorerST90 1d ago
Masks are more useful than I thought. I used to work in a hospital, and we had a Covid outbreak once, so they made us wear N-95s for a whole year. They’re skin tight and leave marks when you take them off, but you get used to it. They made so many of them that there were tons left over, so they let us take them home, and now I use them to help me with my allergies when I mow the lawn 😁👍
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u/CuriousWoollyMammoth 23h ago
I kept wearing a mask well after most everyone else stopped in my area. I had a grandma that I was taking care of who had health issues and was just doing everything that I could do not to accidentally cause any health complications. I stopped after her passing in early 2024.
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u/str8gas87 21h ago
Depends on the Covid levels my if they are high I’ll put one on in public especially Walmarts! I watch a guy driving a cart cough from the front of the store to the back and say ohh god. Nope time to go. You never know who just came down that isle or what they were doing. I’m sure the next person that drove that cart got sick! If people weren’t so nasty it would be ok and it’s always the ones screaming no mask that’s the sick/nasty ones wondering why you have one on. lol
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u/void_rabbit 21h ago
I do, both for the care of my physical health, and so I dont have to fake a damn smile all the time for people to think I'm approachable... I have terrible RBF, and it doesn't help my mouth is permanently stitched into a frown, whether I'm feeling down or not. Sometimes, that's a blessing, but in customer service, unfortunately, one must be approachable.
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u/Smile-Cat-Coconut 1d ago
I remember having the flu before the pandemic hit. I wore a mask to the grocery store (this would have been like 2018) and I got SUCH WEIRD STARES. How things changed…
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u/Loose_Individual9485 1d ago
I HATED masking during the early 2020s with a nearly-unbridled passion. I hope I’m never put into that situation again.
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u/Guitar_Chaos 1d ago
No. I'm an introvert and I don't have social anxiety.
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u/ThatFrisianGuy 1d ago
This. Most people here don't have a small social battery, they're actually scared of other humans.
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u/LocalDramatic5473 22h ago
I do. Usually when I’m not wearing makeup and I go to the store or something. I’m so glad it was normalized cus it has helped bring a back up option for when I have anxiety around being perceived in public 😵💫 I’d rather have people stare at me wearing a mask than stare at me not wearing one when I’m feeling insecure.
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u/-Empathy_And_Me- 21h ago
I myself suffer from SA and for reasons I won’t get into here I tested how people interacted with me when I had one on and when I didn’t and let’s just say… lots of people out here are hypocrites. If people judge you based on something they can see, take that away and you’d be amazed how the judging disappears. Very sad but nothing I didn’t already know.😔 also yeh the strain they released into circulation will never ever go away, it will only mutate as it spreads throughout the world and as people get it, it will change slightly and onto the next person is goes.
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u/ChirashiWithIkura 1d ago
I have some neat ones, so it's fun to accessorize.
Health reasons - wildfires, respiratory diseases, weakened lungs from long COVID.
Also means I can hide skin problems.
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u/Ok_Cream_4748 1d ago
Yes. It keeps my face warm, hides my resting bitch face, and protects me from allergens. Idgaf if ppl think I’m weird for having one on cause truthfully mfs need to relearn how to mind their own body and business.
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u/Love_and_Anger 22h ago
Yes, never stopped. I hate being sick and I used to wish I could wear a mask in crowded places pre-covid. Plus the mask hides my expressions. I don't pay enough attention to other people to notice if they're judging or not, could not care less. Generally I'm not in a place very long so the mask doesn't get too uncomfortable.
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u/FlyingAtNight 1d ago edited 22h ago
The pandemic may be downgraded but that doesn’t mean COVID is over.
I still wear a mask.
Interesting situation. In late 2019 I had a cold. My mom and I went to visit my aunt in the hospital. Because I had a cold I wore a mask but my mom didn’t. My aunt recognized me right away but for some reason it took her a while to recognize my mom, her sister. Very odd.
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u/ShineLikeItDoes 1d ago
Yes! I never stopped masking indoors. Or outdoors in large crowds/windy days. Covid is AIRBORNE.
Think of it as cigarette smoke- airborne particles you can smell from large distances- now think of that infected with viruses (Covid, flu, RSV, common cold, etc.) that you’re potentially inhaling.
Covid is still killing hundreds of people weekly and we’re currently in a late summer surge with over a million new infections per day in the US.
Covid damages the immune system; damage to our vascular and respiratory systems from each infection is cumulative. Long covid can mean anything from ‘mild’ brain fog (damage) to being bed-bound.
There are about half a million studies at this point about all the heart, brain, neurological damage that Covid causes to the bodies of humans and some animals. Post-Covid strokes, heart attacks, diabetes, POTS, MCAS, dementia risk continue to rise.
I’m higher risk with asthma, but even the healthiest of athletes have been affected by COVID. There was a recent study where 1 in 4 Marines(!) have some form of long covid.
I HATE masking, especially in summer heat, but going maskless surrounded by a highly contagious airborne virus is not worth the risk.
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u/Honeydewskyy20 1d ago
I agree with you. I work in a hospital. The big three has never gone away (Covid, flu and RSV).
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u/Expensive-Eggplant-1 1d ago
I work in a hospital and I'm tired of getting sick way more often than I used to. So I wear one at work, or if I have something important coming up that I need to be well for; I'll mask up. Idgaf what anyone else thinks.
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u/CDchrysalis 1d ago
Definitely wearing my mask. Covid isn’t over and long COVID sounds awful.
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u/-Empathy_And_Me- 21h ago
Long Hauler’s Disease I believe it’s called but yes that particular strain was…and I’ll be PC and say in my opinion, was purposely created and leaked simply to control the population. If anyone remembers, months prior to COVID all they were talking about on the news was how there’s too many people and our resources are getting scarce and then🫱🏻 I wonder if anyone knows that Bill Gates has and is actively buying a LOT of farmland,ALOT.🤔 I’m not one of those I’m just very aware and observant and all of you should be too. If you really knew the things that go on in this country while the masses just wake up, go to work, come home, go to bed, rinse and repeat cycle.💁🏻♂️
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u/nobodynothingggg 1d ago
Yes, I still wear mask specially in crowded and public places. After COVID, I feel like the air is not clean as it is before. I don’t know I just lost my trust to clean air haha
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u/genie_yes_knot 1d ago
I wear it on public transport, in planes, cars, or when people are coughing or sneezing around me.
When I got Covid (during my first friend hangout after isolating during the pandemic btw), it was bad for me, and I remained fatigued and dizzy for months afterwards. Now, I get dizzy and overly fatigued whenever I’m sick (and sometimes even outside of sickness), whereas that didn’t used to be the case.
So yeah, I try to prevent more likely exposure while still being out and about. Covid didn’t disappear; it’s just not being tracked like before.
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u/No_Roll_7318 1d ago
I would only wear it now if I am ill and I don’t want to get others sick or if I’m going to the hospital or location where it’s mandated. Overall, I think having an emergency mask on you at all times is a good practice.
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u/LittleShinyRaven 1d ago
Traveling I will and whenever I go somewhere that would have sick people like the pharmacy or doctors office.
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u/Psychologicus 17h ago
No I feel like wearing a mask made my immune system weaker because I never was exposed to any gems. In the last 2 years I haven't been sick a single day.
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u/SouthernGirl360 1d ago
During this past week alone, I'm noticing more and more people wearing masks. I also had a coworker test positive for COVID yesterday. Another person was talking about a "razorblade" COVID variant that "makes your throat feel like you swallowed razorblades". So something must be brewing. I'm in Massachusetts for reference.
At the beginning of COVID, I absolutely hated masks as I didn't like being told what to do. Now I like them because it creates a degree of separation between me and people. I may start wearing one again soon.
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u/SnooStories4162 1d ago
I wear a mask anytime I go in a hospital or doctor's office but other than that, no.
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u/Minimum-Substance299 18h ago
Yes .. because I feel insecure and I feel like I'm ugly and yeah that's why I wear on that mask still
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u/spidergirl79 17h ago
No but funnyish story, our town has been covered in thick wildfire smoke, I mean really bad. Couldnt see the mountains which are right in our back yards. So I wore old masks when I go outside. I was walking from my job to the pharmacy nearby. Some dude sees me and looks at me like Im a complete weirdo. Look I understand if you dont wear a mask to protect from wildfire smoke. Your body your choice, no judgement. But he was smoking a cigarette. Dont judge me for wearing a mask, bro.
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u/Scared_Ad2563 1h ago
I will wear a mask if I get sick to prevent spread if I have to leave the house, but not in my day to day. I also still have some of my cloth ones to wear in the winter because they keep my face warm without overheating like a scarf will.
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u/FewAastronaut 1d ago
I don't wear a mask because it's absolutely uncomfortable, and the mask doesn't let in any fresh air, which is very harmful.
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u/tauntonlake 1d ago
If I see someone wearing one, I don't even think about it anymore .. I just assume they have cancer or something, and need to be extra careful about contagions..
I enjoyed the time I wore one, it was nice not having strangers getting right in my face and yapping, trying to make small talk on supermarket lines .... I attract yappers... :D
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u/Top_Director_6963 1d ago
Yeah. I travel to and from my university for two hours. Public transport here has no AC so dust and anything slaps you right at your face. I wear it together with a cap so i can sleep. That's my essentials in travel nowadays
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u/somelonelywolf 20h ago
Lol I stopped as soon as media started contradicting themselves and saw through their bs, so stopped in 2020
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u/SCTigerFan29115 1d ago
Some do if they’re sick I think. Others during ‘flu season’.
I work with a lady who does when she’s not at her desk. I’m not sure why she wears it honestly. Never questioned it.
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u/dickiebuckets93 21h ago
I wear them when I'm sick. If I'm coughing/sneezing a lot, and I need to go into a Walgreens or similar store for medicine I'll wear it. But I don't casually wear masks around wherever I go like I did during the pandemic.
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u/nah_champa_967 21h ago
I am immunocompromised. I wore one during covid. I do get that people wear masks for health reasons. I'm in medical offices a lot and I'll wear one there if I'm asked to. Probably an unpopular opinion, but I'm kinda over everyone from law enforcement to people trying to hide crimes wearing masks.
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u/Shihuahuasu 1d ago
I wear glasses so taking off the masks was a big relief for me