The 'What Do You Think He's Listening To?' meme thrives on the subversion of expectations by contrasting a person's outward appearance with their internal soundtrack. Usually featuring a stern, muscular, or 'cool' individual wearing headphones, the meme asks an onlooker to guess the genre, only to reveal something drastically different like bubblegum pop, anime themes, or obscure lo-fi beats. This format gained massive traction on platforms like TikTok and Twitter, where users use it to celebrate guilty pleasures or point out the irony of musical tastes. It serves as a digital shorthand for the idea that you can't judge a listener by their cover.