--- title: Fatigued from Fatigue | Trendlines by Gradient description: Today, 79% of Americans think masks are worn more frequently than in the beginning of the pandemic. image: https://i3.createsend1.com/ei/t/29/AE5/911/csimport/less_frequently1.113712.png --- ![](https://i3.createsend1.com/ei/t/29/AE5/911/csimport/less_frequently1.113712.png) [Kyle Block](https://www.gradientmetrics.com/trendlines/author/kyle-block)2020/10/221 min read # Fatigued from Fatigue [Previous ](https://www.gradientmetrics.com/trendlines/did-someone-move-the-finish-line) [Next ](https://www.gradientmetrics.com/trendlines/thanksgiving-2020) Back in [May](https://email.gradientmetrics.com/t/t-l-xjulujt-l-k/), when we entered Britney 2007 levels of stir crazy, we asked Americans how they expect activities to change over the coming six months compared to "the before times." Well — we’ve reached that six month milestone and it’s time to test our tea leaf reading skills. Somebody had to pick up reading tea leaves as their pandemic hobby, right?   ![](https://i2.createsend1.com/ei/t/29/AE5/911/csimport/more_frequently1.113704.png)   From May’s projection, the largest expected increase was in wearing a mask or face covering, which 61% of Americans thought would be more frequent compared to pre-pandemic levels. **Today, 79% of Americans think masks are worn more frequently than in the beginning of the pandemic**. Keep it mind it was in early June that the WHO officially recommended wearing a mask or face covering to prevent contagion.   ![](https://i3.createsend1.com/ei/t/29/AE5/911/csimport/less_frequently1.113712.png)   Our collective tea leaves completely missed the steep drop in demand for pandemic era weddings. In May, 31% of Americans thought getting married would occur less frequently. **By October, 49% said getting married occurred less frequently since the pandemic began**.    Another unfortunate long-term reality that Americans did not expect to persist this long was spending less time with elderly people. At the pandemic’s onset, 43% expected to spend less time with elderly people. **Today, 56% are avoiding IRL quality time with grandparents compared to the beginning of the pandemic**. At the very least, make sure to call (the kind done through a good ‘ol phone) a cherished elderly person in your life today. If you’re not sure what to say, just read them this edition of *Trendlines*. ![avatar](https://www.gradientmetrics.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Landing%20Page/team_photos/gradient-kyle.png?width=290&name=gradient-kyle.png) [Kyle Block ](https://www.gradientmetrics.com/trendlines/author/kyle-block)Kyle is a global market researcher who studies behavior using a wide range of methodologies. He has designed hundreds of population and consumer studies in more than three dozen international markets, and his work has influenced global ad campaigns in emerging markets. An aficionado of maps and spatial data, Kyle holds a master’s in Spatial Analytics from the University of Pennsylvania and studied International Relations and Spanish at Claremont McKenna College. [mailto:kyle@gradientmetrics.com](mailto:kyle@gradientmetrics.com) ## RELATED ARTICLES ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "Organization", "address" : { "@type" : "PostalAddress", "addressCountry" : "", "addressLocality" : "Brooklyn", "addressRegion" : "New York", "postalCode" : "NY 11249", "streetAddress" : "325 Kent Avenue" }, "email" : "hello@power.com", "knowsLanguage" : "en", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://www.gradientmetrics.com/hubfs/branding/default/gradient_default_black.png" }, "name" : "Gradient Metrics", "telephone" : "+49 (0) 89 123 456", "url" : "https://www.gradientmetrics.com/trendlines/fatigued-from-fatigue" } ``` ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "abstract" : "Today, 79% of Americans think masks are worn more frequently than in the beginning of the pandemic.", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Kyle Block" }, "dateModified" : "July 20, 2022 6 PM", "datePublished" : "October 22, 2020 7 AM", "headline" : "Fatigued from Fatigue", "image" : "https://i3.createsend1.com/ei/t/29/AE5/911/csimport/less_frequently1.113712.png", "inLanguage" : "en", "keywords" : "[lifestyle, COVID]", "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@type" : "WebPage" }, "name" : "Fatigued from Fatigue", "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://www.gradientmetrics.com/hubfs/branding/default/gradient_default_black.png" }, "name" : "Gradient Metrics" }, "text" : "Back in May, when we entered Britney 2007 levels of stir crazy, we asked Americans how they expect activities to change over the coming six months compared to \"the before times.\" Well — we’ve reached that six month milestone and it’s time to test our tea leaf reading skills. Somebody had to pick up reading tea leaves as their pandemic hobby, right? From May’s projection, the largest expected increase was in wearing a mask or face covering, which 61% of Americans thought would be more frequent compared to pre-pandemic levels. Today, 79% of Americans think masks are worn more frequently than in the beginning of the pandemic. Keep it mind it was in early June that the WHO officially recommended wearing a mask or face covering to prevent contagion. Our collective tea leaves completely missed the steep drop in demand for pandemic era weddings. In May, 31% of Americans thought getting married would occur less frequently. By October, 49% said getting married occurred less frequently since the pandemic began. Another unfortunate long-term reality that Americans did not expect to persist this long was spending less time with elderly people. At the pandemic’s onset, 43% expected to spend less time with elderly people. Today, 56% are avoiding IRL quality time with grandparents compared to the beginning of the pandemic. At the very least, make sure to call (the kind done through a good ‘ol phone) a cherished elderly person in your life today. If you’re not sure what to say, just read them this edition of Trendlines.", "url" : "https://www.gradientmetrics.com/trendlines/fatigued-from-fatigue", "wordCount" : "413" } ```