"I Love You Too"

I love you too...
That has got to be one of the most overused
phrases I hear!
I mean, just now, my roommate got a call-
He made some inconsequential, mundane conversation.
Lasted about 30 seconds, maybe.
Then came the all important: "I love you too"
Seriously?!
But in this instance it is not really his doing.
The too he tacked on to the phrase indicates that the person on the other end of the line used that hackneyed expression and he was just doing what is polite and expected-reciprocating!

The above is just one example, of course.
In this case the one that got me to stop being just irritated,
And inspired me instead to put these thoughts down on e-paper.
I hear it all the time, everywhere.
People tell their kids, their spouses, their parents, their friends,
their near and dear, and the not so near and dear:
"I love you"---"I love you too"
Seriously?
Are we that insecure? Are we so much in need of validation?
Its an unwritten law, a litany:
Say you love me, kiss me when you walk in, hug me before you leave.
I mean, how can you not-I won't see you for...lesse-wow, it might be as many as five or six hours or heaven forbid, maybe even 12!!

Don't get me wrong here.
I am not against private or even public displays of affection,
Nor do I have anything against saying I love you.
But to make it a requisite (and I am basing this off the aforementioned roommate(s), for whom it appears to be a war-cry!)
Is that really necessary?
To my way of thinking, it devalues the words, the sentiment behind them, and their efficacy too.
Like the boy who cried wolf.
Seriously-I love you should come from the heart when you feel the need to say it, not as an automatic way to end an interaction
Nor as a rote response of I love you too.

Its me I know.
I guess I just don't go in for the overly touchy-feely emotionality.
Really, I am not cold, I am not uncaring.
Ask those who know me and they will attest to the fact that I am a caring and passionate individual whose shoulder is always ready to be cried on and who can be counted on to listen and empathize, whatever the situation.
But overt emotion and empty phrases don't constitute love, caring, respect, or have any value in my book.
So yeah, for me, "I love you too" is devaluing each minute of every day,
as yet another thoughtless, saccharine, automated use of it falls in my earshot!