I’m not coming from an “individual perspective.” I wore masks the whole time because I’m an obedient Asian who will do whatever social convention requires. But now the prevailing social consensus is to not wear masks, and I think that’s correct.
It’s anti-social to not wear a mask when society has decided to do so. But it’s perfectly fine for society to decide to prioritize normal interactions over safety and abandon the social convention of masking.
>It’s anti-social to not wear a mask when society has decided to do so.
Sure, because the efficacity of mask usage increases with adoption. The logic works in one direction, though, not both.
>I’m not going to go around wearing a mask all the time to avoid a couple of days of cold symptoms every other year.
This is the point I was referring to. Would you wear a mask if you had a cold and doing so could prevent other people from getting your infection? If other people wearing a mask while symptomatic could save you months of healthy time over the course of your life, would you reciprocate in turn? More importantly, if evidence was provided that the risks to mitigate were significantly worse than 'cold symptoms' would your calculus change?
It’s anti-social to not wear a mask when society has decided to do so. But it’s perfectly fine for society to decide to prioritize normal interactions over safety and abandon the social convention of masking.