Do you feel frustration when you get a message that says something like..."Hey, how are you?'" or "Hey, what's up?" or maybe just "Hi". The message can seem meaningless and sometimes you wonder why they would even bother to send something. It can feel like the other person isn't willing to put much effort into chatting or getting to know you.
I'm not here to invalidate your feeling because sometimes it's correct. I'm here to provide a different perspective. A simple "Hey" provides you an opening to choose your next steps.
Look at the person who sent you the message. You can now choose what you want to do. Are you going to ignore the message? Are you going to be boring?
Hi, how are you?
Good, how are you?
Or are you going to ask a thoughtful question? One that is meaningful to you. One that inspires further conversation and more than a one-word response. Bumble has a great blog post on this topic!
But even if they don't appear perfect at first, (my partner didn't seem 'right' for me at first) send them a message that lets your personality shine through...you never know. It just might become personal!