The Social Mask Phenomenon in Azerbaijani Television and Social Media: Typology and Archetypal Foundations
(1995–2025)
Elchin Alibeyli
Abstract. This article examines the historical transformation of the television presenter's screen image and the «social mask» phenomenon in the Azerbaijani television and social media space from 1995 to 2025. The study employs C. G. Jung's archetype theory, M. Mark and C.Pearson's brand archetype system, P. Bourdieu's media sociology, and E. Toffler's cultural dynamics framework as methodological foundations. Three main periods are identified: the independence era (1995–2005), the infotainment era (2005–2015), and the digital media dominance era (2015–2025), with the characteristic archetypal dominants of each period analyzed. The research demonstrates that each political-economic transition in Azerbaijan materialized its own dominant archetype on the television screen, while in the digital era this archetypal transformation accelerated significantly on social media. By 2025, traditional television's share of media consumption had fallen to only 17%, while Instagram/TikTok/short-video platforms reached 34%. The systematic marginalization of the Sage archetype and the predominance of Lover and Jester archetypes within the consumer culture framework are evaluated as symptomatic warnings for the quality of Azerbaijan's public sphere.
Keywords: social mask, television presenter, archetype, screen image, Azerbaijani television, social media, digital transformation, clip thinking, mass communication, infotainment