Dear reader, I hope you are well. Let me get that out of the way, because I won’t be saying it again.

I’m fed up with the “I hope you are well” trend in emails, WhatsApps and other communications.

The use of the phrase really took off during the Covid-19 pandemic, according to business observers – an understandable urge given the deadly virus then circulating. But today we just have the usual hazards that come with being human. So what’s wrong with a simple “hello”?

I’m not against inquiring into another person’s welfare, but “I hope you are well” has become too reflexive, too automatic for my tastes. Literally, it’s on auto-prompt. Starting typing “I hope ... ” and then swipe right to complete the rest.

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Responding meaningfully to “hope you’re well” has become another task to tick off. And when the phrase is in corporate communications, it seems cloying or indecently chummy.

A more honest greeting might read: “The world’s gone to shit, and no one really knows why we’re here, but have you got........

© The Irish Times