In today’s  circumstances, people are required to wear masks in public for the safety of themselves and the people around them. As a result, companies are getting creative and are taking advantage of the situation by designing and selling masks.

Masks are required in pretty much every indoor and public place. This includes in stores, public transportation, and medical centers. Whenever people come in contact with one another, a mask is required. Following this mandate, many people started to look for places to purchase masks. Analise Hopper (10) adds to this and says “people are beginning to notice the dangers of the virus and are wearing masks to slow the spread of the virus.” Wearing a mask will help the United States and the world move closer to reopening which will allow life to return back to normal.  

However, most people didn’t want to buy the basic disposable masks. They wanted their own unique mask that would make them different from those around them. This opened the perfect opportunity for sellers to start adding masks as one of their products. Both small and large businesses took advantage of the demand for masks. Online sites such as Etsy and Shopify are filled with listings from independent businesses who are selling their handmade masks. The masks have all sorts of different designs and some masks can even be customized. This ensures that the customer will stand out from others when wearing their mask. Larger corporations have done similar things. Designer brands have also turned towards the mask industry to keep their customer counts up. Masks are sold just like any other accessory would. Although prices for these masks may be more expensive, they ensure better quality.

Masks allow people to express themselves even though half of their face is covered. Since the possibilities of a mask’s design are endless, people are able to choose designs that best represent themselves. Patterns shown on masks can represent someone’s interests. For example, people might choose to wear a mask with their favorite color  or a character from a book or movie they enjoy. Masks may also show one’s personality. A mask with a joke could represent a friendly attitude or a homemade mask could show the creativity of the mask-wearer. 

Wearing masks in public is still being normalized. More and more people are wearing masks when they are near others, but not everyone. To convince people to wear masks, influencers created the campaign #MaskingForAFriend. The use of this hashtag is promoting social distancing and the use of masks. Influencers across social media are using this tag to bring awareness to the benefits of masks by asking people who they are protecting when wearing a mask. Using the hashtag allows people to understand the detrimental consequences of not wearing masks which encourages them to do so. By wearing a mask, someone can not only save lives, but can make a difference in the world’s efforts to stop the spread of the pandemic.