Today, apology videos have become the norm. I have never made an apology video, and likewise, no one has ever made an apology video for me. Making apology videos has become common in the social media space, especially among celebrities and influencers. Celebrities are known for stepping on each other’s toes and causing online quarrels- that's one of the ways they gain more popularity and generate traffic. Some even go as far as calling each other out through videos. They post them on social media platforms, tagging each other, and using negative language. After they have settled their differences, the next thing you see is an apology video. And after the apology video, they go back to doing that same thing, making you wonder if they were ever genuine about the apology in the first place.
For today’s Hive Learner’s prompt, we are asked to share our thoughts on apology videos. How can you tell if the person is genuine or not? As I mentioned above, I have never made an apology video. I had never thought about making one until I came across this video. Can I ever make an apology video? Well, if the person is special to me. Not just an ordinary friend, but someone who has been with me through thick and thin, and making that apology video is the only thing that can bring the person back or make them stay, then I'd do it without thinking twice. Usually, when I know I have offended someone and I'm clearly in the wrong, I don’t find it difficult to apologize. I'm always genuine about my apologies. First, I acknowledge my fault, then I proceed to apologize. If your apology is genuine, a video might not be necessary.
Left to me, I don’t think apology videos are necessary. Most times, when these celebrities call their peers out to make public apologies, they are always not genuine about it. Most times, when they do this, they do it to generate traffic, gain more popularity, or be sarcastic about them. Apology videos are only necessary if the damage was done publicly. A few years ago, a celebrity ordered goods from another celebrity (a public vendor). I don’t remember what the goods were, but I think they were jewelry. The goods were expected to get to the other person on a certain day, but when they didn't, they went online and started calling the seller out. Calling them fraudulent names, without even hearing from the other person.
It turned out that the goods got delayed due to logistics problems. Words spoken cannot be taken back. The other person had already tarnished the seller’s reputation and business. So, to make amends, they had to make a public apology, explaining the issue and accepting the blame. In this scenario, the video apology was necessary.
Making apology videos doesn't guarantee genuineness. What if the person is putting up an act? What if the person is doing it for the sake of doing sake? What if after sending the video, the person proceeds to laugh about it with their friends? How can you tell if a person is genuine or not? Another important thing is privately apologizing. Privately apologizing to the person should always be the first step before considering a public apology video."
Nowadays, people find it very easy to say, “I’m sorry.” The phrase “I’m sorry” has almost lost its meaning to me. Because tell me why you'd say I'm sorry when you'd still repeat the same thing? You cannot totally tell if a person is genuine about what they did or not from an apology video. The person might look really remorseful in the video, and you might even start to feel bad for them or blame yourself. They might even proceed to share a few drops of tears. But even that can be an act.
The only way to tell is if they don't repeat the behavior. After making the video, are they taking steps to make amends? In the long run, do they repeat the same mistake? Apology videos are meaningful only if they take responsibility for their actions and don't repeat the same mistake.
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Thanks for reading.
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