How has your day been?
when you ask this question or someone asks you, do you take it to be simply small talk or do you take the question seriously?
i was just considering it and i think i could give a more truthful answer but that merely depresses everyone.
How do you answer this?
just lie and say it’s been ok or normal, then move on, unless you have something of interest to say
obviously it depends who you’re talking to:
best friend - truthful and detailed (unless it would upset them to know you’re feeling crap in which case edited version)
teacher - “very good, thanks”
i think it’s quite easy to judge from situation how much to say.
also it must be far more depressing to lie but look obviously unhappy than to tell the truth and then they would know why.
Doesn’t it normally depend on who you’re talking to and how much time you have to fill?
If I were really bored, I would probably make something up anyway.
Do language and conversation always serve a particular function or can they be just to pass the time or entertain?
At work it seems like I go through a script of some sort. I see somebody and then I make-believe that I am happy to see them. I asked them, “How’s it going?” and then they say, “Everything’s good. What about you?”
“Oh you know, same old, same old.”
Or the many variations thereof. It gets on my nerve.
I usually answer that my day is terrible, then they are forced to ask me why? Then I come up with something crazy and philosophical. I like messing around with humans. Try to unplug them.
If you want to really detatch them, stop beating around the bush and get to the heart of ‘the Why.’ If they ask you “how was your day?” ask them, “why do you want to know?” Ask them their reasons for wondering what your day is like. Do they want to compare it to theirs? Do they want to befriend you? Is there a purpose to them asking what my day was like? Does it somehow finalize the day; to package it into one neat series of events? ‘This happened, this happened, and this. Then someone asked me how it was. And then the next day’ OR, does it serve no purpose at all, and is simply something we picked up senselessly because we need substance to our tiny, pathetic lives?
Usually they don’t have much of an answer to that other than saying it was small-talk, a custom, or quite truthfully: “I don’t know.” And if they are smart, they will think about this for a long while. And if they are not, well… there really wasn’t any point to it, was there?
Can one really consider all of the moments of one’s day as a whole? I have had a single day comprised of the best and worst moments possible. How do you describe this? It would be difficult even to the most intimate friend.
Good friends ask this question undoubtedly to share one’s life, mere acquaintances perhaps out of curiosity, idle manners, or more superficial motives.
Glue, only a person from the Tri-State area can be so gangsta!!! I’m going to start that this monday. oooh can’t wait. People are going to get so pissed at me! 
I think it’s essentially a common courtiousy, not unlike saying “Bless You” when someone sneezes. It means alot more when left unsaid. Like, if I ask someone how they are, I will expect them to ask in return. If they do ask, I’ll answer and it’ll be over with and nothing more thought of it. If they don’t ask back, it almost seems as though they don’t care.
Am i the only one that sees a lot of manners as just empty formalisms? I know they serve the purpose of helping us relate to each other better, but aren’t they tired and superficial? Don’t they sound trite in the mouths of most people?
People ask these questions, and if you don’t respond they get annoyed, but don’t they know that your response as nothing to do with the question. Its just what you say to get the person to leave you alone about it.
Which is something you don’t really need to do. If you tell the truth or say something like “shitty” they will just say “why” but they don’t want as long convo about you most the time. its just a way to say I know your here.
If someone is asking you:“Hows your day been?” then i find it hard to consider someone saying:“i dont know,” when really all i do is think of yesterday and what happened. A day as Marshell said can be both between apathy & estacsy and depending on the person and how much of there engram they’d wish to unleash on you, is the decisive matter. Its just one person may not be as trust worthy with you as another, or find the ability to bring about there mood at the time simply because of a lack of communication.
Some people I know when they ask this I answer fine (or whatever), than I ask them “how about you?” and they blab on for ages. I guess they are using it so that when you ask them, they will have an excuse to blab on about themselves. I am guilty of this myself, but usually only with the people who use it to talk about themselves. If they ask first I’ll talk for ages, if I ask first, once they’ve finished their talking, then I’ll talk for ages. Usually these types of people don’t mind if you blab for ages because they want a listening ear for when they blab on. It’s also I good way to get a topic of conversation if you don’t have one. For example if they say, “oh I saw ” , then if you’ve also seen it, you could discuss that.
Many conversations begin with a question (in the early part, not necessarily straight away). “How has your day been?” is a common one that doesn’t require much thought. Even if the first person doesn’t ask a question, but states something like they go up to a person and say “Hi. I finally finished my project.” then the second person can ask “What do you think you’ll get for it?” they could also make a statement, but the conversation wouldn’t last very long, unless the first person was really eager.
But then again, most of the time questions punctuate the whole conversation.
It depends who is asking. If some one I’m not really close to asks, they usually dont care but if, like, my best friend asks, I know they care. Me and one of my friends usually base our whole conversation on “how are you?” or “how was your day?” Like, if the answer is “pass” “meh” "… " or “s***” then she knows I need to talk about something, but if its “good” or “okay” or “great” she knows I’m fine and she can tell me her problems lol.
*~Kayla