About
“You Should Be Studying” is an image macro series featuring photographs of celebrities who are regarded as sex symbols, and captions urging the reader to study hard. Intended to serve as a motivational poster for students, the meme has seen quite a few variations on Tumblr, especially during the months of December and May when final exams traditionally take place in primary and secondary schools.
Origin
On December 12th, 2011, Tumblr user Speakington[1] created a photo set featuring Benedict Cumberbatch,Robert Downey Jr. and Tom Hiddleston with the words, “You should be studying,” photoshopped over each one. As of May 2014, the post has gained over 19,000 notes.
Spread
In 2012, there were at least six notable instances of the meme with more than 1,000 notes each, including Tumblr user atedaryltv’s [5]Doctor Who post on December 9th, 2012, which has gained over 17,000 notes as of May 2014. On May 7th, 2013, an Avengers rendition of the meme, which was originally published on Tumblr user danfour’s[6] blog on May 6th, was submitted to 9gag.[3] As of May 2014, the photo has gained over 63,000 notes.
Collection posts with many photos, targeted at multiple fandoms tended to gain the most notes. Tumblr user flox-pollimon’s[2] post, which features actors from the Supernatural,Avengers,Merlin, and Doctor Who was published on May 1st, 2013, and gained over 85,000 notes within a year. In 2013, There were six more related posts that gained over 1,000 notes.
Notable Examples
External References
[1]Tumblr – speakington
[2]Tumblr – flox-pollimon
[3]9gag – Avengers:You Should Be Studying
[4]Tumblr- sherloksemptyhearse
[5]Tumblr- atedaryltv
[7]Tumblr – You Really Should Be Studying