"terms of endearment"?

My neighbor called me "sweety" today when he came home from a long weekend. It gave me a small charge, but at the same time, I know that he didn't mean anything by it.

Here on the board it seems that everyone uses one term or another in addressing friends and strangers.

Here, I seem to call everyone "hon" or "sweety" most of the time. Before I came here, I never used terms of endearment, but here it seems so natural and normal. I've even started using these with my own family.

Something I remembered when my neighbor used one of those terms with me today is that when I was a kid, it would make me light up like a light bulb and automatically expect to be "loved" from that day forward. LOL Can't really say why, but it did give me a very warm fuzzy feeling and would want to cling to that person, albeit not physically. Today, the feeling wasn't nearly as intense. Maybe because I've become cynical, or maybe because I know that some terms of endearment are overused. Some people even resent them and feel that they are condecending.

When I use them, it means that I, at least, like that person and feel comfortable with them. Just wondering how everyone else feels about them.

I'd really like your comments. I need some enlightenment.