i started a page for a digital character i'd designed and posted a handful of glamorous images. the page took off faster than my own account ever had, which was both exciting and mildly insulting
soon i was writing captions from her perspective, keeping a content calendar, and replying to questions about outfits she'd never physically worn. i joked online that i worked for her now
one follower asked whether the character had a boyfriend. i replied that her creator was available. the comments immediately suggested she could do better and asked me to stop embarrassing her brand
i removed the joke and made her profile about the creative project instead. she still gets more engagement than i do. even the algorithm apparently prefers my imaginary girlfriend