"I'm sorry" has been abused and misused for far too long.
People have resided to make use of it for gain and most of the time it is used to bully the offended party and coarse a forgiveness out of them irrespective of how they feel and the fact that the offender didn't feel remorse and they aren't repentant of their actions and will probably not change anytime soon.
You may be familiar with saying "ask for forgiveness, not permission". This has been the backbone of many people who have come to abuse apology as a strategy to wreak havoc on their loved ones and stranger in the bid that they needed to do what they did not caring if their actions would have a negative effect on those around them.
As long as their action suits their purposes, they can return at a later time to apologize or not at all in some cases. It gets to the point where apologies or any phrase that vaguely represents the meaning apology looses value.
There are many ways people abuse apologies and I will point out a few of them below:
Sorry with an attitude.
This happens when an apology is rendered after finding all ways to justify their action because they feel they are right and they have nothing to apologize for. Or rendering the apology with a tone or body/face gesture that shows they aren't sorry at all.Sorry without change.
This happens basically for repeatable actions. After repeatedly issuing correction and they also repeatedly issuing apology, that person goes back to do exactly what they just apologized for, their apology then looses value.Sorry for the wrong reasons
These set of people apologize but not for what they did wrong, they look for something trifle that wouldn't hurt their ego and place that on the pedestal for their apology.
Offenses must occur and apology must be rendered. Let's look at some of the ways to actually apologize below:
with the right attitude.
This entails tone of voice and with remorse for their actions.with admitting the error
This entails admitting that what they did was wrong and that they understood that their actions have caused pains or hurt their loved ones.with the right words
"I am sorry/apologize for (what it is) they mention why and what they are sorry for or about. Either a physical action or a behavior.with promise of change.
The apology process is incomplete if there is not course for change. Changed behavior is the apex of the truth in an apology.
Following through the above, the love, trust, confidence, cooperation between loved ones, friends, family members, colleagues, relatives, subordinates, superiors and the community at large will improve greatly.
Thank you for taking time to read through.