I live in Australia so the sun is rather deadly - I guess for me personally when you grow up with constant TV advertising about sunscreen and “slip slop slap” as a national saying (slip on a shirt, slop on some sunscreen and slap on a hat!) our perspective around sun protection is somewhat different.
Like everything else in this country the sun is also trying to kill us with skin cancer being one of the leading medical concerns in this country.
Personally I cannot stand ANYTHING on my face (especially!) serious sensory issues and things like creams and makeup (F here) make my skin crawl, but I find a light smearing and a hat better than the alternative in summer - just have to remember to reapply all the time - but again it’s kind of ingrained into our social psyche here because having dealt with sunburn on many occasions I would prefer to not get burnt to a crisp (because nobody like peeling skin…)
I’m a keen mountain biker so it’s important as I spend a lot of time outdoors. Even in winter here the sun will still burn you if not careful.
TLDR: sun protection is a big part of life in Australia and introduced at birth so we kind of just get used to it because the alternative is not to go outside during the day especially in summer (stuff that!!)
Yes, we only have to look at the United States in recent history for that example…