If your friends don't wear masks, you won't either.

We all belong to a variety of tribes that influence our behavior. The closer the association we have with the tribe, the more likely we are to follow their cues.  

A study published in The American Journal of Health, found that if your friends are overweight, so are you.  That's because we change our habits to mirror those of our friends, even if we are unaware that we are doing it. (Junge, 2011) 

Remember the last time you went to dinner with friends?  Did someone order a drink?  If they did, did everyone else?  What about dessert?

 

Research also tells us that 60% of us care deeply about belonging to the tribe and that people like others who are similar to themselves.

So not wearing a mask becomes a way to affiliate with the group regardless of potential consequences.

How sad is that?

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Junge, C. (2011, May 24)  How your friends make you fat - the social network of weight.  harvard.edu.  Retrieved March 3, 2020, from  https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/how-your-friends-make-you-fat%E2%80%94the-social-network-of-weight-201105242666