How are you doing?

Everyone in the world has been asked this question at one time or another. The conversation usually goes as follows:
John: Hey Jane how are you doing today?
Jane: Good John. How are you doing?
John: Good thanks.
And that is the entire conversation that revolves around asking another human being "how are you doing?" What puzzles me about this interaction and even this question is that nine times out of ten people don't answer truthfully. The probability that they will answer truthfully to an acquaintance is much lower than if that person was a close friend but even then the response may still be the same. Some people in this world will lie about how they are doing because they have an expectation that that particular friend should know already what is going on in their lives. On the flip side the person asking the question could just be following a social norm of asking how someone is when you see them even if you really could care less. I have two challenges for you as you finish reading this post. First, only ask this question if you genuinely care about that person and the response they may give. Second, if you are asked this question answer truthfully. I am not saying you have to pour your heart out to a random person who may ask, use your discretion. When are you are dealing with your close friends though just be honest with them, who else can you be honest with if not with them?