Covid Killed the Selfie Star

Here’s one thing you see a lot less of since the pandemic:

Selfie sticks.

It makes sense.

Hello? Masks?

At first, there was the novelty of, “Here’s me in my mask!”

Here’s me at the beach with my mask. Here’s me in the fall leaves with my mask. Here’s me in my muffler in my mask. Me in the rain in my mask.

It got old quick.

The mask defeated an essential part of selfie culture. A selfie is, by definition, a picture of a face. What fun is a selfie without the “me” part of “look at me?”

Now, the CDC has issued new guidance suggesting it’s safe to take your mask off outside. But selfie culture likely won’t come back to pre-pandemic levels.

Because Covid has changed the way we think of The Face.

Constant Facelessness

I didn’t know what they looked like — these friends I’ve had for over a year.

My doggie playgroup formed for a bunch of pandemic reasons. Our dogs were young (pandemic puppies); Outside activities were safer; And there was more morning time because no one had to commute.

Above her mask, Meredith had short, light brown hair covered with a wool headband in winter. Jerome’s feet were my focus because he plays in a soccer league and always employed his fancy footwork to punt balls for the dogs.

Last week, after the CDC announcement, we took off our masks.

It was like meeting a pen pal in person. Part, “Oh, that’s you!”