While most Americans are no longer wiping down their groceries after a shopping trip, many businesses and public spaces are still promoting their comprehensive disinfection processes.
“Public bathrooms tout regular spray-downs with disinfectant. Elevators advertise self-cleaning buttons. At my local Marshalls, the cashier sanitizes the credit-card reader after every use — even if I use Apple Pay!” Ms. Tayag wrote.
These more performative measures — referred to as “hygiene theater” — have outlasted measures such as masking and vaccine requirements, which are far more effective at preventing COVID-19 spread, according to Ms. Tayag.
“At its best, hygiene theater is benign — albeit time-consuming, wasteful and expensive,” she wrote. “Hygiene theater becomes a serious problem, however, when it falsely reassures people that an environment is safe, giving them permission to relax their expectations and behavior.”
Read the full article here.
