Genuine doubt

Mr. X who recentlly joined our organization is from a village and this is his first exposure to City people's mannerism. The other day he asked me a question"what is this, In my native, everytime I sneeze, I have to utter "amma" or "appa" or else I will be thrashed by my parents. Here everyone are saying "excuse me" or "sorry" or nothing. I could not help but just laugh at his innocence. On ruminating, I realize, in the city, we are gradually losing the habit of uttering the words "amma" or "appa" at all. I have heard elders saying that the more you call "amma" or "appa" the more their life span will expand. Probably we are so busy we do not want them to live so long and hence we have purposefully eliminated these etiquettes