I don't know where exactly this falls in the top 100 list of utterly useless phrases, but it's in the single digits.
Completely hypothetical example: a PBase friend in London expresses dismay over the chilly gray weather there. Here in Rhode Island we're getting 6 inches of snow. I feel an immediate need to respond with a photo and message that says "it could be worse."
A) if it could it would, B) it isn't so who cares, and C) it won't change the fact that were both sitting on opposite sides (of the Atlantic) looking at the same brown grass. Or white.
So glad I suppressed that urge. Enjoy, John.