“How Are You?” Has Lost All Its Meaning
Why we need to stop asking it
I stand in the office’s kitchen, waiting for my lunch to heat.
Like every day, I smile to the people coming in and out, friendly, polite, just as my grandma taught me.
I don’t like small talk, but sometimes, you don’t have a choice and have to go through them. It’s a social convention, one which drains all my energy.
“Hey, how have you been?”
“I’m okay thank you. What about you?”
“Yeah, all is well too.”
It’s the first time, however, that I get this follow-up question
“No, really, how are you? You look a little tired, is everything okay?”
Everything isn’t particularly okay, and it is so refreshing to know someone cares. I feel a sudden special connection with the person and decide to open up.
Do you ever stop and think about our interactions?
Is anything wrong with them?
Very few — if any at all — are the people who ask how we’re doing and honestly care to know the answer. Very few are the people who answer and give a properly genuine response.
“How are you?”
A greeting sentence that different cultures, in different languages, have been…
