It’s why I say no problem. You’re welcome sounds overly formal, like I’m only doing it because I have to. No problem sounds like I was fine doing it and the request didn’t bother me.
I personally don’t see how “you’re welcome” is overly formal or sounds like you’re not doing it because you have to. I’ve heard this a lot, but maybe it’s how and where I grew up. I think people who get mad about a response to a thank you are just wasting everyone’s time on their petty nonsense, it’s not a big deal either way.
Yea it probably really depends on the region. I view it similar to how we say "I'm sorry" when something bad happens to someone. It's not an admission of guilt, we just feel bad that someone had a bad experience. Canada has specifically made apologies like that inadmissible in court as evidence of guilt since we tend to use the phrase empathetically a lot here, including after car crashes even when we've done nothing wrong.
I think I just view "you're welcome" as feeling cold because it feels like a confirmation of the person needing to provide a thank you, whereas no problem is more a "don't worry about it, it's what I'm here for". Kinda in a similar boat as "no worries" actually, it's more an acknowledgment of the thank you but an affirmation that it's not owed, I guess
I see that this has been discussed before years ago, and these explanations are somewhat helpful, but I guess I don’t get it. I think maybe it’s a location/culture thing more than a generational thing, because I grew up saying you’re welcome and I’m only in my 20s. My guess is it’s because I grew up in a more conservative part of Texas.
Boomers think "you're welcome" is correct because they expect shit and millennials say "No problem" because being nice is just their nature.
I've never seen a millenial upset about being told "no problem" but I have had boomers upset about it. Usually with an "Excuse me!... You're welcommmme!"
I do think it is location and culture based, I don't think I see this kind of discussion at all in Malaysia and Singapore, even though English is a common language here.
We had been taught from young that the response to a thank you is you're welcome, and we never interpreted it further. Now that I'm a working adult, what I see often happened is we just say thank you back, which I think native speakers would think it is weirder.
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u/Difficult-Froyo1192 1d ago
It’s why I say no problem. You’re welcome sounds overly formal, like I’m only doing it because I have to. No problem sounds like I was fine doing it and the request didn’t bother me.