Seeing the Light
July 20, 2020 6:54 PM Subscribe
I would be very interested to know if any information, even a projection, exists on the number of people who started wearing masks because the President now both wears and endorses the wearing of a mask.
IOW, how many people who wouldn't wear a mask are now wearing one because the President does. And is the only reason they're wearing one now because the President is now wearing one.
IOW, how many people who wouldn't wear a mask are now wearing one because the President does. And is the only reason they're wearing one now because the President is now wearing one.
It's been such a short time, this is information that probably won't be analyzable for years maybe. Nobody's tracking this on a national scale, at best someone one day will analyze cctv footage and do mask-counting.
Also, there's already all kinds of conspiracies afroth that will probably mitigate the effect. He's trying to pwn the libs, he's been replaced by a stand-in, he's pretending to do it to shut up the media, he winked or used the secret word, blah blah blah blah.
posted by Lyn Never at 8:20 PM on July 20, 2020 [5 favorites]
Also, there's already all kinds of conspiracies afroth that will probably mitigate the effect. He's trying to pwn the libs, he's been replaced by a stand-in, he's pretending to do it to shut up the media, he winked or used the secret word, blah blah blah blah.
posted by Lyn Never at 8:20 PM on July 20, 2020 [5 favorites]
In addition to the above, there are mandates by regional and national retail chains to wear masks.
Many of the people who have not been wearing masks have done so over various misunderstandings about the purpose of the masks, such as the people who believe it is their own life that the mask is designed to protect. It appears that we have failed to communicate the reasons for wearing a mask to people. The information is out there, but absent a unified message from the government, and given the tendency of people to ignore things that cannot be adequately explained in a few words, the idea has been allowed to take hold, and it becomes very difficult to get them to pay attention to anything. Most of them won't have noticed Trump wearing a mask, it barely made the news, which they quite likely don't keep up on anyways.
By way of comparison, the wear-a-mask security guard at the entrance to Walmart, Kroger, etc., is much more of a smack in the face reality check to these people. No one forces you to watch the news, but this will be inserting itself into the lives of people in a significant way in approximately the same timeframe. The start dates of the retail mandates has varied, and some, such as Menards, have been doing it for quite some time, predating Trump. This means that it would be very difficult to draw conclusions based on observation alone, and you would likely need to survey people to gather the data.
posted by jgreco at 11:55 PM on July 20, 2020 [1 favorite]
Many of the people who have not been wearing masks have done so over various misunderstandings about the purpose of the masks, such as the people who believe it is their own life that the mask is designed to protect. It appears that we have failed to communicate the reasons for wearing a mask to people. The information is out there, but absent a unified message from the government, and given the tendency of people to ignore things that cannot be adequately explained in a few words, the idea has been allowed to take hold, and it becomes very difficult to get them to pay attention to anything. Most of them won't have noticed Trump wearing a mask, it barely made the news, which they quite likely don't keep up on anyways.
By way of comparison, the wear-a-mask security guard at the entrance to Walmart, Kroger, etc., is much more of a smack in the face reality check to these people. No one forces you to watch the news, but this will be inserting itself into the lives of people in a significant way in approximately the same timeframe. The start dates of the retail mandates has varied, and some, such as Menards, have been doing it for quite some time, predating Trump. This means that it would be very difficult to draw conclusions based on observation alone, and you would likely need to survey people to gather the data.
posted by jgreco at 11:55 PM on July 20, 2020 [1 favorite]
I mean, this literally happened yesterday - lots of people who might in theory change their minds about masking up because Trump now says it's OK aren't even awake yet. I wouldn't expect even the vaugest guesstimate about what sort of effect this might have for at least a week or two.
Add to that the fact that an increasing number of retailers (Walmart being a big one), businesses, cities, counties, and states are also simultaneously requiring or strongly encouraging masks, plus the point that mask wearing isn't really being tracked . . . Ask this question again a month from now and you might get some approximations.
posted by soundguy99 at 4:49 AM on July 21, 2020 [2 favorites]
Add to that the fact that an increasing number of retailers (Walmart being a big one), businesses, cities, counties, and states are also simultaneously requiring or strongly encouraging masks, plus the point that mask wearing isn't really being tracked . . . Ask this question again a month from now and you might get some approximations.
posted by soundguy99 at 4:49 AM on July 21, 2020 [2 favorites]
Pew Research Center is tracking the number of people who say they wear masks, including political affiliation:
“Democrats and those who lean Democratic are more likely than Republicans and Republican leaners to say they personally wore a mask all or most of the time in the past month (76% vs. 53%).”
If they continue to poll people with this question and Trump’s mask wearing continues and has a sizable effect on people’s behavior, it might show up here.
posted by kittydelsol at 4:53 AM on July 21, 2020 [8 favorites]
“Democrats and those who lean Democratic are more likely than Republicans and Republican leaners to say they personally wore a mask all or most of the time in the past month (76% vs. 53%).”
If they continue to poll people with this question and Trump’s mask wearing continues and has a sizable effect on people’s behavior, it might show up here.
posted by kittydelsol at 4:53 AM on July 21, 2020 [8 favorites]
kittydelsol has it. The only people actually measuring mask use are pollsters.
I would guess there will be an initial bump, but a lot depends on how long Trump plays along. It would not surprise me if we never see him in a mask again.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 5:23 AM on July 21, 2020
I would guess there will be an initial bump, but a lot depends on how long Trump plays along. It would not surprise me if we never see him in a mask again.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 5:23 AM on July 21, 2020
This NYT map is from 4 days ago, I hope they update it regularly.
posted by mareli at 6:12 AM on July 21, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by mareli at 6:12 AM on July 21, 2020 [2 favorites]
Mod note: Ask Metafilter isn't for general discussion of the broader topic, but for answering the specific question asked. OP is interested in any information, projections, polling, tracking etc. on the number of people who started/will start wearing masks because Trump now endorses it. Thanks!
posted by travelingthyme (staff) at 9:45 AM on July 21, 2020
posted by travelingthyme (staff) at 9:45 AM on July 21, 2020
Possibly correlation and not causation, but Winn-Dixie reverses stance on masks after Trump tweet .
posted by oceano at 12:10 PM on July 21, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by oceano at 12:10 PM on July 21, 2020 [1 favorite]
The president's pandemic cues (Axios, Jul. 25, 2020)
posted by katra at 9:30 PM on July 25, 2020
President Trump's words and actions have shaped Republicans' perceptions and behavior on everything from wearing face masks to worrying about economic collapse, in an analysis of our Axios-Ipsos Coronavirus Index since the pandemic began. [...] The president's shifting guidance on mask use offers some of the most detailed examples of the interplay between the behaviors of Trump and his base. [...] Mask wearing ebbed a bit June as Americans felt what turned out to be a false sense of the worst being over. Then Republicans began increasing their mask use without cues from Trump, after case numbers in red states began rising. But the practice among Republicans really reached new levels after Trump began promoting mask use himself — and allowed himself to be photographed wearing one. By mid-July, 45% of Republicans were saying they always wore masks outside the home.Caveat: Correlation does not imply causation (Wikipedia)
posted by katra at 9:30 PM on July 25, 2020
« Older Xbox One controller + PC + USB3 = poop [why is USB... | Origin of "this is how I make bread" video? Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by pdb at 7:42 PM on July 20, 2020 [4 favorites]