[JohnFen]

> This is one thing that always got me about the United States: people will ask you how you are doing, but they don't actually mean it

Yes, we use it like "hello" -- but not always. Sometimes we mean it.

Since this use of "How are you?" trips up people from other nations so much, I've tried to be more aware of this. My compromise is that when I mean it as a greeting rather than a query, I'll say "Howzitgoing" like a single word. If I mean it as a query, I'll look the person in the eye and ask "How are you doing?"