Politeness Rather Than Intent
I side with the fact that using phrases such as "how are you?" and "nice to meet you" are out of politeness rather than literal intent, especially within the American population. Most people answer the phone with a "hello" and a "how are you". Rather than truly caring how they are- which kind of sounds bad- it mainly just serves as a conversation starter before diving into the main topic of discussion. This goes the same for any business meeting. Sometimes, it's not truly nice to meet someone, especially if you have heard from other colleagues that the guy you're about to meet is a bad boss. By saying "nice to meet you" to that boss, it is just out of politeness rather than actually meaning what they're saying. Now, with friends and family, this situation may be a bit different because you may truly care for, say, your aunts and uncles and would really like to know how they are. Though, the politeness over intent may still a