Masked World
Unlock 1.0
Covid-19 has turned the world upside down. So much has changed since the virus has entered our lives. Corona is still on the playground and it seems like this game is not going to end anytime soon. And the most visually recognized change is face covering.
We’ve all stepped into this new culture of wearing masks which is mandatory for all of humankind. The Government have decided to impose fines if masks aren’t worn.
Apparently, the water vapor we exhale is the primary source of the spread of this virus. So now we know why masks came into the picture. Social distancing alone, without the use of masks isn’t enough to defeat the battle against the virus.
Masks have become a part of our new normal, and have reserved a place in our daily wardrobe. The production of beauty products has come down drastically. And thus, the established beauty concept of “good looks” has become the victim of loss. Working from home has become common and might end only with the defeat of the virus.
The trend of women applying lipsticks and men maintaining a long beard & mustache has lost its popularity keeping the present situation in the mind. So what’s the issue with the mask? Our face is extremely expressive, we can convey countless emotions without saying a word. But due to the masks, expressing emotions has become difficult. A smile and a thank you is the only thing we have to give in return to a person who helps us, but this also has been snatched from us. Good positive vibes behind them are concealed.
Our generation is notorious for being weak in expressing emotions when compared to the previous generations. As we live in the age of the internet, we choose to hide behind our screens and make our social media game strong. We express our emotions through texts and emojis, and we meet people online more than in the real world. But this wasn’t the case with the previous generations. They used to meet and greet each other . They could mingle with people around them and express their emotions to the society without any hindrance.
Our face is the mirror of our feelings. It reflects our emotions and sentiments. Now when we meet a stranger, all we have is eye contact. We won’t be able to guess what the other person is feeling about us nor can we express anything through our facial expressions. Like happiness, sadness, surprise, fear, anger, and disgust.
The other day my friend narrated his experience to me, where he was traveling in a bus and had to pay money for his ticket but he didn’t have the exact amount, so the conductor helped him get the change and the least he could do is smile and say thank you in return. But the smile wasn’t visible and the thank you couldn’t reach the other person because of the chaos in the bus.
It has become hard to walk around as we can neither see faces nor exchange smiles. We can’t easily recognize anyone with a mask. Don’t you think expressing emotions through facial expressions will take a backseat in the upcoming days?
Who knows when this will end, but masks are probably here to stay. We have a choice: live with a mask or die without one.
We have been forced to look harder, to look beyond & to see more clearly. I think we have been forced to look at the eyes. That’s good because that’s what we have left. They say eyes are the windows to the soul and they can smile too. I don’t think I would have ever seen a smiling eye as I do now.
A face mask brings a little discomfort, making it hard to spot facial expressions like a great smile. But here’s a solution to how we can see a bunch of smiling faces under the mask. A Smile Mask (by Rafi Nova)- a clear-paneled mask to allow communication inclusively. This unique mask has the power to re-connect individuals who have been left out by traditional mask-makers. It is beneficial for language development, pragmatic development, and understanding, speech/lip-reading, etc. This Smile Mask will keep you safe and smiling all day long.
