US: "appreciate it". You don't, right?

[Peter Harris]

When i was over in Houston, a frequent response to anything was "appreciate it". We were also asked "how yall doing today?" several times an hour. Heard people say "so good to see you!".

How much of this is false? I mean, whilst it's good to say it, i can't help but think more than 50% of the time, the speaker didn't appreciate anything, nor did those people actually care how we were doing that day.

What's better for a society - being asked and no-one caring, or being asked infrequently but it actually mattering?

Just wondering as it seems like quite a US/Non-US divide to be asked so much and feeling it meant so little.