Some people just have big hands. Looks real to me, it's obviously just a staged shot for promotion. Get a crew to build part of a fake attic (don't need a whole attic for this), lay some insulation, have the talent (the guy in the photo) hold the insulation and look nice for photos. He leaves, they break it down and move on to the next project

The hands don’t seem off to me, especially if the model has done a lot of hand-on labor. The thing that sticks out to me as an indicator of this being not AI generated is the markings on the strand board to the right of the model’s belt; I don’t think an AI would take into consideration the product info marked onto raw material, let alone be able to place three squares of that info in line. If we could find actual raw strand board with those specific product markings, especially one sold by Home Depot, that would suggest it to be an actual photograph. Identifying the model in the photo and finding photos of him outside of Home Depot’s promo shots would also indicate it’s a photo. In either case of it being a photo or AI-gen, the marketing team still could have done some photoshopping as they see fit.

Hard times in the country

Ugh, I resemble this comment. I need to wear more PPE around the house.

It's fine. Any detrimental effects are cumulative. Unless you are a serious DIYer or professional, you have nothing to worry about.

Ever since learning, as a kid, that insulation is microscopic needles of glass, I see it with the same disgust as seeing parasites. Same disgust of microscopic things invading your body and causing damage and not leaving..

It was nice knowing you

If you are a professional who is installing insulation all the time? You absolutely need that mask.

If you're a flipper who buys a new house every year or two and usually replaces the insulation? You should wear a mask.

A homeowner who installs it once, maybe twice in their lifetime? Eh. A lot of PPE mandates are about doing it often and professionally where you can get a lot of exposure. Or if you already are at risk. If you have respiratory issues then if course you should wear a mask. If you have healthy lungs and plan to do this task just once in your lifetime, just having decent ventilation and not shoving your face in it is fine.

I'd wear gloves, but more because the rafters probably have splinters and rusted old nails or staples or whatever. The skin irritation from fiberglass lasts like a day or two and doesn't have any long-term impacts, but I also find gloves aren't as inconvenient as masks.

Eye protection is a must. I don't mess with that.

Or you can just pay the extra money for Rock Wool and get all the other benefits that come with that too.

Is there loose or exposed insulation up there?

I’m in no way an expert, but I would think that your insulation won’t be shedding much into the air once it’s in place.

I’d wear a mask, gloves, and long clothes if I were going to touch or move it around though.

You know how sand on the beach is fine, but sand in a super windy dust storm stings like hell? Insulation is fine so long as nobody is actively touching it and spewing out bits. Probably shouldn’t be able to see it but it won’t kill ya.