“Sorry, I’m just now seeing your email!” (You sent it 15 minutes ago.)

“Sorry that you completely misinterpreted that thing I said.”

“Sorry you just rammed into me with your grocery-store cart.”

“Sorry” has become commonplace in daily conversations and communications. We drop it indiscriminately for all manner of things we really shouldn’t be sorry for. Is it time to stop?

“I wasn’t really that sorry,” admits Louise Julig, a freelance writer in Encinitas, Calif., who found she was constantly apologizing for the “delay” when replying to notes, even when there wasn’t much of a delay at all. “Sorry has lost its meaning, no longer a heartfelt declaration of remorse (悔恨) but just a subconscious response,” said Louise Julig. Now, faced with a blank email, Ms. Julig asks herself, did I miss something, or mess someone else up? If the answer is no, she’s not sorry.

I understand very well how she feels. When I searched my sent emails for the phrase, “Sorry for the delay,” the result was too many hits for Gmail to give me an exact count. I tried, in the course of reporting this column, to cut back on my apologies. Mostly I failed, catching myself exclaiming sorry! I apologized to the person I contacted for this piece when I called three minutes later than I was supposed to; then I apologized for only being able to meet him on the day I suggested, not the other; I even apologized in advance for any offence I might cause to him during the conversation.

While apologizing too much in daily life may not have serious consequences, doing so in business, especially when you’ve actually done something wrong, is just asking for trouble—you’re giving away your power, says Jeffrey Pfeffer, a professor of organizational behavior at Stanford Graduate School of Business.

People are never satisfied with an apology, he adds. Exhibiting vulnerability (脆弱) only makes you look weak. Standing your ground comes with risks. You might not be liked. But he thinks it’s worth it. “You can either give in to what people want you to be, or you can decide that you are going to risk offending people. Life is about trade-offs (权衡),” he says.

Teenagers have been regarded as the new “spend, spend, spend” generation, but their spending could put their parents in debt.

A report shows that parents are lavishing cash on their teenagers so they can keep up with all the current fashion. But the report also shows that it is the age of the “kidult” as teenagers are acting older at a younger age and having a bigger say than ever in the clothes they buy and wear.

The majority of teenagers between 15 and 19 receive more than 100 pounds a month, but their plentiful pocket money is leading to many teenagers — particularly girls — becoming addicted to shopping as they spend a huge amount on clothes, make-up and electronic equipment.

Now the report is warning that the generous cash handouts from parents who owe a lot of money means the young people are not being taught important lessons in money management. Latest research from market analysts of Mintel International shows that British teenagers -11 to 19 years old - love to spend but they are not just spending their own money. According to Richard Caines, one of Mintel International Retail analysts, “Parents today are prepared to go well beyond simply satisfying the basic financial needs of their children. So much so that the amount of money parents give to their children significantly outstrips economic growth and will continue so. There is no doubt that in the future teenagers will be hitting the shops even more often than they do already.”

Today teenagers between 11 and 14 are more likely to receive at least 250 pounds a year as pocket money. The amount of pocket money obviously increases with age, so that between 15 and 19 years old the majority receive more than 100 pounds a month, with one in seven receiving 500 pounds or more.

A friend sent me an email, asking if I’d consider writing about educational apps for children to watch while on road trips. The email said, “Many are turning to road trips. And often with long car rides comes the use of on-screen entertainment. These educational apps should also develop their art, math and design skills.”

While I realize the intention is well-meaning, and doubtless would lead to a quieter car ride for the parents, the thought of sticking kids in front of screens on a road trip makes me queasy. You see, if they’re glued to a screen for hours on end, they will miss everything that’s going by outside the window. And that means they’ll miss out a major part of the trip and the opportunity to engage in conversation with family members, but to be alone with their own thoughts, or simply to be bored.

There is so much to see on a road trip! Cars, trees, faces, building, markets, airplanes landing — the entire world is out there, and staring at it from the backseat of a car familiarizes a child with what is going on.

I have a theory that paying attention to one’s surroundings while traveling by car helps children develop an internal compass. If they don’t pay attention during all those years when they’re being driven, they’ll struggle to know where to go and how to locate themselves once they’re independent. This doesn’t mean they have to be alert (警惕的) for the entire journey, but not being on a screen naturally allows for a higher level of engagement with one’s surroundings. When you listen to music, you’ll look up occasionally; you’ll pay attention to landmarks.

What can children do on the trip? Actually, there are plenty of off-screen activities.