noun
wearing a mask just to avoid standing out or upsetting others; peer-pressure mask-wearing
Colloquial term from the COVID-19 pandemic. Describes wearing a mask not for health reasons but because of social pressure or fear of being judged. 忖度 means 'surmising others' feelings' or 'reading the room'.
もう感染は落ち着いているのに、忖度マスクを外せない人が多い。
Even though infections have settled down, many people can't stop wearing a mask just to avoid standing out.
彼は本当はマスクをしたくないが、周りの目が気になって忖度マスクを続けている。
He doesn't really want to wear a mask, but he keeps doing it because he's worried about what others think.
Compound of 忖度 (surmising others' feelings, reading the room) and マスク (mask). Coined during the COVID-19 pandemic to describe mask-wearing driven by social pressure rather than health concerns.