What's the point of saying hi; what happens if you don't?

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Don't ask me.. I always forget to say hi - I jump right into conversation if I'm the one initiating it... which rarely happens, and is always awkward when it does. If I'm not initiating the conversation, and the other person says hi, then I usually say hi back. Not sure what impact it has on relationships, though, as I've never been very good at them.

I don't usually say hi first but it's not usually a rule of mine. I don't consciously decided to say hi second, it just happens that way. Maybe people are just more eager to talk than I am.

Here where I live we kiss in the cheek to say hi. I always found that very pointless and always forget to do it or find it unnecessary, but then people think that I'm being rude :/

I always had problems saying "good morning". I don't know why but I just hate that phrase

Same here (maybe we are talking about the same place?), that's really annoying when you have to say hi to a lot of people, It would be easier if they form a line. You do have to kiss cheeks to say bye too, I use to avoid it saying bye with a wave or I just go away.

The word ''hi'' has just two letters, but saying the small word can go a long way. There is lot's of point to it, and is usually natural in most people.

A bit like the word ''no'' - it's just a very short, simple word, but a lot of people have so much trouble saying it.

I got many issues with the word hi as well. I am a firm believer that if you already said "hi" to someone, that "hi" should be enough for at the very least one or two days if you meet at the same place, like a school or work. My mom had to teach me that if I don't say "hi" people will take so much more notice of me, if I blend in and say it people will go on as usual with their business.
It still is one of the words I have so much problem saying, in a way, saying "hi" means you acknowledge the other person, which in turn gives them the permission to talk to me, sometimes I don't want people to talk to me.

It's such a small word, still it bugs me the hell out.

I live in the south, and people don't say "hi" here. It's "hello" or "good morning" or "how are you?" and some of the older people say things like "howdy." Saying "hi" instantly marks you as an outsider.

I'm bugged by people saying hello to me in passing who I don't want to talk to. It feels physically painful when they say it to me, because I'm trying hard not to make eye contact and avoid indication that I want to converse. If I say hi back they will then ask me "how are you?" and if I don't say hi then I feel badly and want to go lay in bed for hours as a punishment. These are people who I've conversed with before who I just don't like and I've stated that I don't want to talk to them.

I don't always like saying hello first because of the fear that they may not say hello back for some reason.

It happens when visitors come to the care home where I work. I think I give an awkward smile because I'm reluctant to say hello, as I've said hello to visitors before and they didn't respond, even though I heard them say hi/morning to other workers they pass. So I give a smile, which is better than nothing, because naturally I'm a friendly person so I don't feel right just walking by and looking away. But my social anxiety makes it hard for me to confidently say hi to people I don't know very well.

I say hi first a lot and smile even to strangers as I walk past them. Not all the time to every single person but like if I am walking in the park and pass someone I usually do. And if someone says hi to me I usually say it back. It just feels good. I like the feeling. It feels warm. Sometimes if I am feeling insecure about something or if I am overwhelmed with something I don't say it back because I can't muster up the energy or because I am distraught in my own self. But usually I like saying hi and returning the greeting. I don't consider a big philosophical or huge social meaning behind it, I just like the way it feels. And it usually does not lead to a conversation. every now and then it does but usually it's just a nice acknowledgment of each other and then you just keep carrying on with whatever you were doing or keep going wherever you were going. But also as was posted above, if I don't want to risk it turning into a conversation for whatever reason, then I either don't say it or if the person says it first I don't look at them when I respond.

Walking past strangers is very hard for me. Ok I don't like too many crowds because I find it hard to concentrate, but at the same time when I'm walking along somewhere quiet and I pass someone very occasionally, I also get panicky. I feel that if I don't look at them, I think that they will think I'm weird or unfriendly. I don't know why other people's thoughts should bother me, but it does. That's where the NT part of me is coming out.

I tend to ignore people who don't say hi to me/ notice me.

I have an ADHD friend who will shout across a street/ room to make sure that he has said hi to someone.

Also I think hi is used as both friendship managment, and a way to initiate a conversation.

I don't say hi until I've had time to observe the local culture.

In NW Arkansas/SW Missouri, what was proper was a big smile and an enthusiastic wave to go along with some variation on an effusive "Hi!!" That was the standard of basic politeness, it's what you did if you didn't want to send an "I hate you, you're beneath me, suck off" message.

I had a hard time with it, but eventually realized I liked it. It was a good thick social armor.

If I couldn't smile, I stayed home.

In rural northcentral West Virginia, one should make very brief "area-of-the-eyes" contact (I think ASD runs particularly thick up there, b/c it was long after I left that anyone said anything about eye contact, and I never knew it wasn't normal to not look directly into someone's eyes) and say a casual "Hi" (usually ends up as "H'lo" or "mornin',"lift a hand or nod.

In Morgantown or Fairmont WV or the greater Pittsburgh area, one does not speak, wave, smile, look at the person, or say anything along the lines of "Hello" or "Good morning" or anything else unless you have seen each other often or been previously introduced. It seems to frighten them, or for some other reason to provoke hostility, if you're too darn friendly. I hated it about Morgantown/Fairmont as a young adult, and as a middle-aged SAHM I find it really isolating now. I work at making cracks in it though. If I'm open to communication, I will very quickly lift one corner of my mouth, or barely nod, or say "You're welcome" in response to a cashier's perfunctory "Thank you." After many repetitions of this, pleasantries may be exchanged. And there are bored, lonely, or otherwise outgoing people with whom the rule does not apply. The trick is just finding them.

I'm interested in developing a thick social armor, that is if I had any idea what it was.
You have a really keen eye for regional customs. If I'm in the mood to say hi, I say it; if I'm not, I don't. I worry about not saying hi sometimes, but saying it when I don't want to makes me feel sick.

I live in an apartment complex. I have a couple of NT friends that live in the building across the street with a neighbor who won't say "hi," "hello," "good morning," or whatever when they pass him in the hallway. You should hear them talk about how he creeps them out, and how weird they think he is. NT's use the little greetings in whatever form not only as a manner of greeting or a method to start a conversation, but they also use it as a way to determine something I don't understand. As such, I've always responded to greetings in part (and occasionally initiate) because I don't want to be considered that creepy weirdo that NT's talk about when he isn't around.

Not saying hi is considered rude. So the point of saying hi is to not come off as rude. Also I think if you don't say hi, people feel that you think you're better than them. Whatever that means lol