Key Points
That social media apology came the same week Tiffany Gomas apologised on Instagram for delaying an American Airlines flight; and members of the cast of the reality show Below Deck: Down Under apologised on their individual social accounts for an incident of sexual harassment that took place while filming the current season...
In a social media-centric world, apologies have become compulsory; increasingly, audiences are demanding responses from celebrities and CEOs alike to address a range of missteps, such as mass layoffs, extra-marital affairs, the use of racist or hateful language or even criminal activity...
Karina Schumann, an associate professor in social psychology at the University of Pittsburgh, US, feels social media has helped to create an environment of accountability if only because it has created so much awareness of what public figures are saying and doing all the time..
As apologies have evolved into a kind of tacit agreement between public figures and the public, Schumann argues they've actually become less effective, even if they're served directly to fans on social platforms...
Because public figures use social media as a strategic way to build their brands, they struggle to "cross into that sphere of access and authenticity that audiences and fans expect, especially on an app like TikTok", she says..
