Man's coworker asks if he's gay right after following him on Instagram — then he sees what popped up on her feed
People can learn things about you through social media that you never openly discussed, though their conclusions may not always be accurate. TikTok user Curran Sullivan, who goes by @shirecom, found that out when a female coworker followed him on Instagram and immediately asked if he was gay. He shared the funny encounter on September 22, 2026, explaining that the reason behind her question caught him completely off guard.
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Sullivan explained that his coworker had barely followed him on Instagram when she turned to him and asked, "Are you gay?" Confused by the sudden question, he told her he wasn't and asked why she would think that. It turned out her answer had nothing to do with anything he had said or done at work. Instead, it was all about the accounts Instagram started suggesting to her as soon as she followed him. The screen recording Sullivan shared in the video showed all the suggested accounts of male models and gay couples, which apparently gave his colleague the idea that he was gay. Joking about the encounter, Sullivan ended the video by saying, "Am I a gay icon?"
The suggestions that his co-workers saw were filled with male models, and as she kept scrolling, more and more profiles like them continued to appear. The number of suggested accounts made the ordeal even funnier. The longer she looked, the more amusing the situation became. It left Sullivan wondering what his Instagram activity was telling people about him.
The video also got viewers talking, with some joking about the suggestions and others wondering what kind of content Sullivan had been engaging with. @sevenhues15 teased him, writing, “Let me know if you change your mind.” @jimmosley0 joked, "Well, I'm gay, and suddenly I'm here. I'm not sure why," while @inside_attunement made it more hilarious, writing, “I think we need to see what you’re posting."
It's easy to look at someone's Instagram and start making assumptions about them based on what you see. A study on Instagram self-presentation found that people don't always see an account holder the same way that person sees themselves. The researchers also found that a polished, attractive profile could make people assume someone has a great personality, too. So, apparently, a few photos can say a lot to the people scrolling through them, even if they get the wrong impression.
Social media algorithms may portray your personality in a certain way. They are based on the type of content people watch, save, or interact with. But they are not always a reflection of someone's interests or personality. For Sullivan, the suggested profiles might be a result of his colleague's algorithm rather than his. Despite that, the long list of male models and this colleague's questions made the whole ordeal funny.
For more of his content, you can follow @shirecom on TikTok.