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The original was posted on /r/tifu by /u/HairyTemplate on 2026-01-06 18:19:38+00:00.
I’ve learned that scrolling on autopilot is a dangerous thing. Especially late at night when your brain is halfway checked out and your thumb is faster than your common sense.
I was lying on the couch after dinner, TV on but muted, just killing time on my phone and flipping through Instagram suggestions. Same motion over and over. Tap, scroll, tap. At some point I locked my phone and didn’t think twice about it.
A little later I unlocked it and saw a notification that made my stomach drop. Someone had accepted my follow request. It took me a second to register the name, then the profile picture loaded and it clicked. My boss’s girlfriend. Same last name. Photos from a company holiday party I was actually at. Very obvious once my brain decided to wake up.
I unfollowed immediately, but the damage was already done. From her side, it probably looks like a random coworker followed her and then panicked five minutes later and disappeared. Nothing has been said. My boss hasn’t acted any differently. Logically I know this is probably nothing. Emotionally, I have replayed it every time my phone buzzes and aged at least a year from secondhand embarrassment.
TL;DR: mindlessly scrolling on my phone, accidentally followed my boss’s girlfriend, unfollowed right away, now stuck cringing at myself.