Skip to main content
Close Button
Donate
  • Replies 67 replies
  • Subscribers 41 subscribers
  • Views 22399 views
  • Users 0 members are here
Options
Related
Hints and tips
  • To quote someone's message, first select/highlight the relevant text, and then use the Quote button that appears
  • To "mention" someone, type @ followed by the start of the forum name, and choose from the list; that person will get a notification of being mentioned

About the "How are you?" question

California
over 5 years ago

What do you think about the "How are you?" question?

I, personally, do not like this question and I have never liked it.

I do not know what to answer.

Also, a lot of the time, I think it is expected just to give a positive answer, but I often feel awful to say "Fine!" simply to be polite if I am not fine. 

Parents
  • over 5 years ago

    For me, it's just a meaningless exchange.  Like mentioning the weather.  Purely phatic.  Even if my intonation in response might suggest the opposite of 'Fine', or - as I more usually say -  'Okay', it's almost as if the other person decides 'Uh-oh... don't take this any further.'  And so they don't.  Maybe that's because I rarely get beyond a phatic level of exchange with people.

Reply
  • over 5 years ago

    For me, it's just a meaningless exchange.  Like mentioning the weather.  Purely phatic.  Even if my intonation in response might suggest the opposite of 'Fine', or - as I more usually say -  'Okay', it's almost as if the other person decides 'Uh-oh... don't take this any further.'  And so they don't.  Maybe that's because I rarely get beyond a phatic level of exchange with people.

Children
No Data