[gustavo_duarte]

This is an interesting argument, and it's hard to say anything without data, which would be hard to measure imo.

As a counter, my intuition is that masks also remind people of the risks and actually encourage safe behavior. I feel this in myself, a greater awareness of the pandemic, a nudge towards being more careful. Extending your analogy, it's as if the seatbelt reminded people that there are some pretty grisly accidents out there, and maybe they should take it easy.

Both effects probably exist, not sure what wins out, and how much it matters.