Literally the meme
The double standard has always been funny to me. Americans get called "fake" for smiling, making small talk and being polite to strangers, but Canadians do the same thing and somehow it's just considered part of their culture. This is peak America bad
And honestly, I'd rather be around the "fake nice" person than someone who's proudly rude. Even if it's just a social norm, you're still choosing to make interactions more pleasant for everyone else. I've also never understood the "they're pretending" argument. Why would someone fake being nice? If they're making an effort to be friendly and polite, that's still a better interaction than someone who thinks being blunt or rude is somehow more "authentic."
I've never bought into the whole "Americans are fake" stereotype. If your immediate reaction to Americans friendliness is that "they must be pretending," that says more about your own cynicism than it does about the person saying hello & is just being genuine 😗