Sometimes when I meet people or bumped into someone down the street, I don’t say “How are you?”. The most I would do is a “Hi”, a wave, or a smile. I feel that “How are you?” is used blantly nowadays. It’s just a conversation starter. Everyone seems to say it to break the awkwardness, to fill the silence. They don’t say it because they genuinely want to know how you’re doing or if you’re doing okay. It’s just a line, just a quote. They say it and next second, move on to do something else which defeats the whole purpose of asking the question.
And that is why I don’t say “How are you?”, until I genuinely care or to word it better, until we have the time to sit down properly to have deep and meaningful talks because I’m sure the other person’s response would be a quick “I’m good, thanks!” reply. To me, a 5 minutes “Hi!” and “Bye!” doesn’t equate to real talk. It’s just a friendly greeting, to acknowledge the person’s presence. But, often it can appear that I’m unfriendly or I’m simply a cold person. But, it’s as genuine you can get from me!
