Face masks and private parts
I have done a lot of Science Moments on face masks, and you might like to watch the full Mask Moment Playlist.
But two have been on the specific issue that face masks turn our faces into private parts.
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Great observation and I think you deliver it in a easy to associate way. The hiding of the mouth is a huge thing, deeply imbedded in our minds and cultures. I do think once this is all done there will be need for a specialist role, or additional adult/society support, to return childhood and culture to children in abundance.
I realized early on that the mask also created a secondary behavior in adults. As it is incredibly difficult to understand someone when you are both wearing masks. It becomes an minor inconvenience, but I would classify this as a "nudge." Leading me to "If I wont be understood, I wont talk." Mental health reactions that are attached to certain feelings or frames of existence people can have.
Adults, once aware of this can correct and recover in due time I feel. Children? There is limited history for them to draw on from their own lived experience.
If you're 40 and you've lost 2 years - that's 5% of your current lived experience impacted by this situation. If you're 10, that is 20% of your life so far.
I would wonder the psychological impact on masked children is when they observe unmasked children playing free in a field. I'm talking groups, not solos.