Today I want to talk about the social impact wearing masks is having on our society.
I specifically want to talk about body language and the role of masks in inhibiting our ability
to accurately identify other people's emotions. In case you didn't know, social science
tells us that over 80% of language is non-verbal meaning facial expressions, body positioning, etc.
Today I don't want to argue, or make a point, but instead simply showcase the role that masks play in preventing us from accurately identifying others' facial expressions and provide some suggestions on how we can overcome this social obstacle.
Let's start with some examples of face masks and how they change our ability to understand others. Below we have facial expression examples of various emotions. Due to the range of posable emotions, don't get upset if you don't get the exact emotion, its more important that you get the valence (positive/negative, warm/cold) of the emotion so that you would engage in the appropriate social response/action.
Below is a picture with two different emotions being depicted. Take a minute to try and figure it out.
For the one on the left, thinking, contemplative, or curious are all acceptable answers. The one on the right could be shock or surprise.
How did you do? Those were hard emotions, but I bet you got pretty close.
This one shouldn't have been too hard. Emotions are complicated and I chose more complex emotions for this example, but if you got close that's great!
Now we have two emotion examples that are of simpler emotions, but this time we have covered their faces where masks would cover. Try again to guess their emotions.
What about this one? The one on the left is happy and the right is sad. How did you do this time?
This one was probably a little harder, but if you got it that is great! Most people struggle with this. Now let's take this a step further. I live in the state of Florida where it is REALLY sunny. And when it's sunny, people wear sunglasses!
Try this last example of someone wearing a mask and a pair of sunglasses.
How did you do this time? Probably REALLY hard huh? On the left is sadness and on the the right is happiness. But its basically impossible to tell. :)
What did you guess? This one is really hard, even for me and I looked up the pictures!
For some perspective here is another picture of just sunglasses:
This one isn't so hard, disgust and anger.
The results of all of these difficulties are that we hardly ever know what people are thinking. I myself struggle with this when I go out with my fiance as I can never tell what she is thinking and if she is upset. I think that, as a society, we need to recognize this and account for it in our interactions with others. By remembering that we can no longer easily see what others are experiencing.
So how can we combat this? I have two suggestions. The first deals with masks directly. This solution is to transition from masks to face-shields. Face-shields are clear and allow us to see others facial expressions easily once again. An alternative to this would be clear masks, although I am not sure how that would go.
Another option, since masks are clearly not going away anytime soon, and face-shields are quite cumbersome, is to change how we interact with other people. We are accustomed to using our body language and facial expressions to show our emotions. A prime example of this is what we saw in Kamala Harris this week during the Vice-Presidential debate where she showed countless emotions like contempt, disdain, disgust, anger, disbelief, and humor. Since we all cannot walk around without masks on, we have to think about how we share our emotional state differently. I think the simplest, most direct, and most effective way is to just tell (or ask) people. If you are upset or angered by something, SPEAK UP. If you suspect someone may be upset or confused, ASK THEM. In the age of masks, we need to take our covert actions and make them overt. Directly question/verify your emotions with whom you are interacting. This may seem cumbersome at first, but it will improve the quality of your interactions and relationships in this difficult time.
If you made it this far I hope you enjoyed this and can use my tips to improve your communication and interactions. Good luck and stay safe everyone!