The 'When Your Teacher Thinks You're Studying' meme taps into the universal experience of classroom deception and the struggle to stay focused. It typically features a split-screen or captioned image showing a teacher's misplaced confidence in a student's productivity versus the student's actual, often absurd, distraction. This meme format rose to prominence on platforms like Reddit and Instagram, becoming a staple of 'student-core' humor. It resonates with audiences because it captures the harmless thrill of avoiding schoolwork and the shared cultural experience of the modern education system's many distractions.