Are questions like "how are you" the new form of "hello"?

I ask them so it looks like I actually care about the person. Mostly in chatrooms and instant messaging programs. It is kinda dickish to always talk about yourself.

I would say part of it is due to the internet and how we communicate with one another. It’s lessening people’s vocabulary and understanding when they put words together and shorten then cause they lose stuff like meaning,etc… It’s a world that is getting faster and people use faster answers and focus only on the general rather than getting into detail. Plus texting.

In a way yes, they are accepted as alternate greetings.

@sevenfourteen No, it’s, “Mornin 7/14 ! D’ja leave me a mess ta clean up again? Whad ya say? Na I ain’t gonna tell on ya.”

I really enjoy answering honestly. I really like doing that with customer service people or cashiers. Most customers treat employees worse than a leper so I get a kick out of making them smile. Sometimes a good ‘I’m so ready to get out of this store. I don’t know how you do it all day” can really make someone’s day.

I think the trick is to keep your answer light and not spill out your life story.

If someone asks how my weekend was or how school is going, I’m gonna tell them more about what I did and what’s going on. If they don’t want to hear it, they shouldn’t say that. If I ask that to someone, it’s because I want to know; I don’t think of it as a substitute for “hello”.

“How are you?” on the other hand is a little different. Saying “fine” is fine for that.

Hmm I think you are mistaken in thinking that these questions are “new” they have been in the english language for a long time, and similiar greetings are used often in other languages as well.

It seems like people will ask how you are, and really not care what the answer is. So yes, in my opinion it is like Hello. As you stated you say it to the guy in the dorm, but don’t stay around to actually listen to the answer.

In the world the way it is today with everyone in “such” a hurry to get here and there, Hi or Hello should be all we need say, unless you really want to acknowledge what the answer will be.

If someone asks, I seem to always say just fine, or if it’s a clerk at a store that I frequent I might say, “you just don’t have the time to hear the real answer, so Fine is enough!”

I’ve often answered “I don’t know, How AM I?” That throws them off. I tend to make smart ass answers when I just don’t want to be bothered knowing the asker doesn’t care or have the time either.

Maybe we should all evaluate the answers we give in every day life a litttle closer to get back to forming real human relationships.

BTW, How ARE you today? :)

Yes they are greetings, albeit a little more friendly than a simple Hello because you’re actually showing an interest in someone and sparking up a conversation.
Also did you know hello was first used when the telephone was invented?

How-are-you-type questions/greetings can really confuse German first-time visitors to the United States. In Germany for the very same question (it’s not considered a greeting here) it would be considered impolite to give a short answer only. In fact, even a longer answer is quite acceptable while this might irritate some Americans depending on the context. A lot of anecdotes end up in books belonging to the ‘Avoiding Culture Shock’ category, like this innocent single German traveler going on transcontinental Greyhound trips. If he’s a talkative guy he might take the ‘How are you’ question quite seriously and co-travelers might no longer be bored.

Well, in 1988 before my first visit I read a couple of those books and was prepared. Or so I thought. And indeed checking in at the international student office the lady asked ‘How are you?’ and my reply was ‘Fine thank you. I really had a great flight.” and that was it. But guess what it really felt odd. I felt being impolite despite what my rational mind was telling me. One can’t undo more than 2 decades of conditioning. It took me several months to feel comfortable with giving shorter answers.

I’m glad to hear that some of you actually give them an answer. I try to read the person for the most part. If I’m going to be with them a while I will try and start a conversation but like @Skippy some people (grocery store cashiers etc) don’t have time for the long answer, and they’re just asking just to be polite. I’m a waitress and I ask tables and am always thrown off gaurd if they say other than the typical “fine”. Occassionaly I get the “better now that I’m here” but that still doesn’t really give me an answer anyways. As for the guy in the dorm I have tried to start a conversation with him beyond how are you but I think he’s used to people walking away after a quick hello.

@sevenfourteen – maybe next time you pass the dorm worker, stop, give him a smile and a minute to respond. Bet he is floored by that and you’ll make an invaluable friend!