FROM ANALYTICAL PSYCHOLOGY TO TIKTOK: WHAT PROFILES THAT PROMOTE AND APPROPRIATE THE CONCEPT OF ARCHETYPE SUGGEST ABOUT IDENTITY CONSTITUTION

Abstract

Coined originally by the psychoanalyst Carl Jung, the concept of archetype has been appropriated by coaches and content creators in the esoteric and self help market to sell courses, consultations and media products focused on personal development. In simple steps, they teach how to activate archetypes that, it is believed, can influence our way of being and acting, favoring the attainment of professional and personal gains. In this article our aim is to understand how such professionals promote, through the commercial appropriation of the archetype concept, consumption rituals and forms of self-presentation on social media platforms. For that, we conducted an exploratory study based on twenty one videos about archetypes posted on TikTok. We observed that the phenomenon inspires self portrayals on social media and combines two dispositions: the promise that we can be our best version and that we can be whatever we want.