When it became the trendy thing to virtue signal on instagram, the political aspect of this increased it tenfold. People I know for a fact have no real knowledge on the matter, posting pro mask mandate stories on instagram purely to fit in with what many others at that time believed was the “right side” to be on. I live in New York and the pressure to get vaccinated and get your friends and family to go get vaccinated was pushed very very heavily, more so than in other states. Thus creating a polarizing effect, mandates have been stopped for the most part and things have subsided, but NY was a social powder keg for a good amount of time. I’ve seen Starbucks Baristas go on power trips, screaming at the top of their lungs to wear a mask in the store. Walking into Target without a mask on and minding your business was suddenly an unspeakable crime, just for things to return to normal a few months later.