In my culture yes it is but to me, greetings are nothing because I don't take them as part of respect some people think that greetings are part of respect but I don't see it like that, a person can decide to greet the whole community and at last, don't have a single respect for elders so I will conclude that greetings are part of appreciation, in some homes parents always warns their children not to talk to strangers and just imagine if a well-disciplined child keep to that instructions and don't talk or even greet strangers will you say the child doesn't have respect? Or have the thought that the child is trying to keep instructions.
Greetings are good but some culture doesn't take greetings seriously but take respect seriously while some do, If a person doesn't greet you I don't think you should take it personally because I know greetings are not some country's Constitution.
I was going to keep my opinions to myself but I don't agree with you, Rachel. Seeing the comments I figured it was only Africans that replied, since it's only a white that'll say greetings aren't important.
You see I'm the kind of person who likes greeting people even down to my mates, but don't talk much and it makes me seem as though I am a proud and egoistic person. So, if a circumstance comes that I greet someone and the person doesn't reply ( especially when I know the person heard me ) it's like "Nah, I'm not ever going to greet you again". I once greeted a man in church twice and he didn't reply me, only for him to say after the service that I hadn't greeted him throughout that day. With the anger in me, I said "Sir I've greeted you twice today and you didn't reply to me" Then he was like I didn't greet him well. I thought about it literally throughout that day "How did I not greet you well? Sure I don't have a loud voice but I tried to show you respect twice and you just behaved like it was trash, Now I'm going to show you how disrespectful I am" those were the exact words in my head.
Now my point is, that greetings have no other message than " I respect you "If I don't respect you, I won't greet you. Even if I do, grudgingly. It's very possible to greet someone I don't actually like or respect just for customary sake but at the end of the day, it doesn't change the message of the greeting.