nick
January 28th, 2011, 11:01 AM
A growing number of Japanese teenagers are obsessively hiding their faces behind white medical masks, experts have warned.
http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01813/mask_1813194c.jpg
The culture of wearing disposable facemasks to help prevent the spreading of flu germs is widespread among Japanese commuters and office workers, particularly during the winter months.
However, a growing number of teenagers are wearing the cotton masks, some from the moment they awake until they go to bed, sparking concerns that they are using them in order to retreat from society.
Yohei Harada, an analyst specialising in youth trends at Hakuhodo Inc, the advertising agency, told the Telegraph: ““A few years ago, very few teenagers wore masks. But many wear them today and the numbers are increasingly very rapidly.
”The reason is that these teenagers are looking for something to hide behind. They are constantly having to communicate with friends via SMS and emails and this is making them so tired that it is a relief to wear a masks. It is a way to hide their feelings.”
The streets of Harajuku, a colourful mecca for young teenagers in central Tokyo, are filled daily with crowds of young teenagers accessorising their fashionable fur jackets and boots with white face masks.
The climate of political flux, economic instability and the absence of jobs for life in Japan are further factors believed to be fuelling social insecurities among teenagers.
One such example is a 15-year-old schoolboy so obsessed with his mask that he only takes it off to catch his breath after running in PE. “All I can say is that it somehow calms me down,” he told the Asahi newspaper.
Source (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/japan/8287767/Medical-masks-become-new-trend-for-shy-Japanese-teenagers.html)
http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01813/mask_1813194c.jpg
The culture of wearing disposable facemasks to help prevent the spreading of flu germs is widespread among Japanese commuters and office workers, particularly during the winter months.
However, a growing number of teenagers are wearing the cotton masks, some from the moment they awake until they go to bed, sparking concerns that they are using them in order to retreat from society.
Yohei Harada, an analyst specialising in youth trends at Hakuhodo Inc, the advertising agency, told the Telegraph: ““A few years ago, very few teenagers wore masks. But many wear them today and the numbers are increasingly very rapidly.
”The reason is that these teenagers are looking for something to hide behind. They are constantly having to communicate with friends via SMS and emails and this is making them so tired that it is a relief to wear a masks. It is a way to hide their feelings.”
The streets of Harajuku, a colourful mecca for young teenagers in central Tokyo, are filled daily with crowds of young teenagers accessorising their fashionable fur jackets and boots with white face masks.
The climate of political flux, economic instability and the absence of jobs for life in Japan are further factors believed to be fuelling social insecurities among teenagers.
One such example is a 15-year-old schoolboy so obsessed with his mask that he only takes it off to catch his breath after running in PE. “All I can say is that it somehow calms me down,” he told the Asahi newspaper.
Source (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/japan/8287767/Medical-masks-become-new-trend-for-shy-Japanese-teenagers.html)