This post touches on the topics of futurism and perhaps transhumanism; however, only with minor focus on technology.

In a very condensed form, the Idea is that the face is distracting. Someone talking to you might assume things about you based on your face. If everyone wears a mostly basic mask, which effectively covers your face from view, others' focus falls on your personality and expression choices, instead of anatomical details you can’t change.

Why a mostly basic mask? Determining how basic such a mask should be is not easy. That is because a mask not being basic and being a canvas for self-expression (similar to tattoos now) would probably be a really good thing. I also like the way the game Sable handles masks, where they represent the wearer's passion, calling, or occupation. However, a more liberal system where masks mean less (than in Sable) and could be customized more, while still being somewhat basic, could offer the most benefit. The basicness might be more important than it sounds, as it would lead others to be unable to evaluate you effectively until you say something. Thus, everyone in this hypothetical society would be able to effectively shape how they are perceived. That would, for example, get rid of at least surface-level racism.

It might also serve practical purposes. Here we touch on transhumanism. Smart glasses are cool (at least to people who enjoy tech), but almost no one wears them. For the glasses form-factor they are very chunky and most people are not used to that. Therefore they dislike the idea of the person in front of them wearing anything smart on their face. But if everyone were to wear masks which have much more space for electronics than glasses, it would probably become the norm eventually, simply out of convenience.

Additionally, masks could still offer the same benefits they do today (e.g., respirators). Assuming we (humans) don’t solve climate change in time, wearing a mask to protect from dust and pollution might become necessary anyway.

An additional benefit could be that if everyone has the same de facto “basic face-card”, lots of anxieties about one's own face could be resolved. It removes the pressure to comply with societal norms and standards that, depending on your genetics and background, might be impossible to comply with. Just as an example, why have we as a society decided that narrow eyes make someone look ...

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