A Society of 'Whatever'

'Whatever...'
I found myself uttering this word to my visiting landlord not more than five minutes ago.
I realise it wasn't really the best choice of expression I've made from my fairly extensive english vocabulary.
In all of its simplicity, that little word seemed to sum up the day, the weather....oh, and perhaps more significantly, my energy levels.

And for some reason, it just fell out of my mouth. 
As I clambered up the stairs feeling like a fifteen-year-old, I wondered how many other solo words are simply falling out of people's mouths every day.
I know I myself have been on the receiving end of more than my fair share of 'whatevers' in my life.  But are we really becoming a 'whatever' society?? 
And when did the dreaded One Word Response (OWR) - so synonymous with teenage angst - become so commonplace in the world of grown-ups??

I'm very certain the Miss Manners of yesteryears might have vehemently tut-tutted on the subject, but I can hardly frown upon a word that is not only firmly entrenched in my own vocabulary but has woven itself tightly into our language and culture. 
Where there's a will though, there's a way to track down a compromise.
 And in this case, I suppose the antidote is to choose and use not fewer but MORE words.
'Whatever' will not sound so hard on the ear if it is accompanied by a 'you think is best is fine by me...' 
Fine, as long as it is, of course, fine. 
If not, perhaps stumbling over something along the lines of 'whatever may be the case, but I feel that (fill in your argument here)...' might be more suitable to the situation.
And perhaps the moral to the story is this - save the OWRs for only the really, really nasty landlords.