Adolescents still wear facemasks to cover ‘flaws on faces’
ISTANBUL
While Turkey has lifted the outdoor mask mandate fully and the indoor mask mandate partially, implemented only in public transportation and hospitals, some young people “obsessed with beauty” continue to wear masks to cover “flaws on their faces,” according to experts.
“Adolescence is the time when the sense of beauty affects people the most. Those refusing to unmask may have a lack of self-confidence,” psychologist Sena Sivri said.
“Rather than judging, parents should give an ear to their children why they refuse to take off masks,” she advised.
Ebru Güzel, a doctor and the author of the book “Güzelliğin Çirkin Yüzü,” roughly translated as “The Ugly Side of Beauty,” pointed out how some young people see face masks.
“Those with beauty obsession see masks as a filter of their lives,” she expressed.
Sivri thinks the “social media platforms” are the reasons behind this obsession.
“The sense of beauty presented on social media accounts negatively affects many,” she said. “Most adolescents think the photoshopped beauty uploaded on the social media accounts are real and when they cannot see that in themselves, they feel disappointed.”
When asked about the “flaws” on their faces, young people remarked different “excuses.”
A 13-year-old boy said he still wears facemasks to cover his “newly grown mustache.” A 15-year-old girl’s “problem” is the dental braces that she does not want anyone to see.
“My parents insist that I should take off the face masks. This maddens me. My nose is big, and I do not want to tell them,” a 12-year-old girl said in sorrow.
A 14-year-old girl said she never takes off the mask, even when dining, as she is ashamed of her jaw that her friends find “crooked.”
