![]() While prevailing COVID-19 messages seem to appeal to the greater good, human beings also want to know "what's in it for me?" Perhaps that's where some of the lines have become blurred. ![]() For every famous person urging us to wear masks, it seems there's another who tells us we have no obligation to and refuses to wear one him- or herself.Ĭhanging behaviors is never easy. Our role models and credible spokespersons have also been a mixed bag. While some local businesses required customers to wear masks as states allowed them to reopen, some leading companies only recently made it a requirement. But the damage has been done.Īdditionally, there has been no uniform voice on the subject, with each state, business and community often deciding for itself whether or when to suggest or mandate masks. The situation was so new and so much was unknown that even the experts - the medical community - sent mixed signals about whether wearing a mask could "flatten the curve." Now that multiple studies have shown masks help stop the spread of the virus, the messaging has become more consistent. Messaging on masks has been fraught from the beginning. One of the most controversial aspects of coronavirus communications currently is who should be considered a credible messenger. And receptiveness to behavior change will vary according to who they trust and believe. A person who knows somebody with COVID-19 will have a different view from someone who doesn't. The rural experience is different from the urban one. Individuals and groups have their own experiences, prejudices and life situations. No one set of messages works for all people, no matter what the issue is. ![]() The problem is we haven't got the messages or the messengers right. ![]() While we don't share all of Warzel's conclusions in the article, we do agree with him on one thing: Masks aren't the real problem. That trust is endangered by what many public health experts I spoke with described as a messaging crisis." New York Times opinion writer Charlie Warzel says in a recent column that "trust in science seems increasingly fragile.
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