Quote Originally Posted by Оля
What astonishes me in English, is that you often call your noted people, like actors, for instance, even if they are 60 y.o., with names like Billy, Johnny, Jimmy, etc.
I think this is part of a general American attitude that tries to see everybody as equal. There seems to be a subtext that if we require someone to speak formally to us, then we are implying that we are better than they, and we Americans hate it when we think someone else thinks they are better than us. I think that is partially why almost everyone in the US is on a first-name basis nowadays.

Personally, I find all this general use of first names to be disrespectful. If I walk into a bank these days, the teller will often bid me goodbye by saying, “Thank you, Don.” I was raised to address strangers using “Mr/Mrs/Miss” followed by last name. I've adapted to substitute “Ms” for the “Mrs/Miss,” but eliminating the “Mr/Ms” entirely... It seems very rude. I think that most people under thirty don't have that impression, though.