Friday, May 1, 1998
Why
WHO KNOWS: How’re you? Who cares … Just say ‘fine,’ move
along
By Trina Enriquez
Daily Bruin Contributor
When someone asks, "How are you?" chances are that you respond,
"Fine," whether you are actually fine or not.
Yet what if you decided instead to tell that person how you were
really doing – especially if you were having a pretty bad day? The
reaction to your honest answer would probably be a glazed look
along with some confusion, which would beg the question: if people
don’t really care how you actually are, why even bother asking?
UCLA students respond to that question in this completely
unscientific survey.
"People on campus are in a rush; they don’t have time to
instigate a conversation. They just get into the habit of saying,
‘Fine,’ even if they don’t really mean it."
Chris Saldivar
Third-year
Political science and English
"I never say ‘fine.’ I’ll tell whoever asks how I’m really
doing. If they’re going to ask a question, they should wait for an
answer."
Jennifer Scheinost
Third-year
International economics
"People just (answer ‘fine’) out of convenience. You don’t have
time to go into elaborate detail."
Jenny Kim
Second-year
Psychobiology
"In a public area, you say you’re ‘fine.’ In private, like on
the phone, you can elaborate. Students are always in a rush, so you
don’t want to keep someone asking how you are, standing there
listening to your problems."
Rosemarie Timbre
Fifth-year
Psychobiology
"It’s just a greeting, more or less – a way of saying hello.
When you ask someone that, you don’t expect them to unload their
crap on you."
Noel Houck
Fifth-year
Computer science
and engineering
"You don’t feel like burdening others with your problems –
especially people you don’t know."
Kelly Wong
Graduate student
Access department
"Other people couldn’t do anything about your problems anyway.
It’s just small talk."
Gohar Karapagosyan
Second-year
English