Two Buttons meme shows a sweating, nervous-looking man trying to choose between two red buttons. Each button carries a different choice, and the character looks completely unable to decide. The joke can be about a serious dilemma, a silly everyday choice, two conflicting opinions, or even a contradiction that someone does not want to admit. That simple idea is what has allowed the meme to stay popular for years.
What Is the Two Buttons Meme?
The Two Buttons meme is an exploitable comic template built around the idea of an impossible choice. At the top, two red buttons are shown with different labels. A hand is usually placed between them, suggesting that someone has to make a decision.
Below the buttons is a character sweating heavily while struggling to choose. The exaggerated reaction is an important part of the joke. Even when the choices are completely ordinary, the character looks as if he is facing a life-changing decision.
The labels are what make each version different. One person might use the meme for choosing between sleeping and watching another episode of a show. Another might use it to joke about two conflicting opinions or habits.
Two Buttons Meme Meaning
The basic meaning of the Two Buttons meme is decision paralysis. It represents a situation where a person has two choices but cannot comfortably choose either one.
However, the meme is not always about a genuinely difficult decision. Much of its humor comes from making a small problem look extremely serious. The sweating character creates a funny contrast with the labels.
The format is also useful for showing contradictions. For example, someone may want to save money while also wanting to buy something expensive. Both choices can be placed on the buttons, while the sweating character represents the internal struggle.
Because the audience immediately understands the visual situation, very little additional text is needed.
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Who Created the Two Buttons Meme?
The original Two Buttons comic was created by animator Jake Clark. Clark posted the comic on his Tumblr blog on October 25, 2014. The original version showed the character deciding between two buttons labeled “BE A D*CK” and “DON’T BE A DICK.”
Clark’s design was influenced by two earlier sources: the Sweating Towel Guy illustration and Hank Nova, a character from the video game TimeSplitters 2. The combination produced the nervous character that later became familiar to millions of meme users.
The original Tumblr post did not immediately become one of the biggest memes on the internet. Instead, it slowly collected thousands of notes before finding a much larger audience elsewhere.
How Did the Two Buttons Meme Become Popular?
A major turning point came on February 1, 2015, when an Imgur user named Robban39 uploaded the comic under the title “Daily Struggle.” The upload received more than 1.27 million views. It was then shared on Reddit’s r/funny, where it received thousands of upvotes.
This helped turn the original comic into something more useful as a meme template. Instead of keeping the original wording, internet users began replacing the button labels with their own choices.
That was the real strength of the format. The picture remained the same, but the joke could be completely different every time.
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Why Is It Also Called the Daily Struggle Meme?
Daily Struggle is another name for the Two Buttons meme. The name became associated with the format after the 2015 Imgur upload used “Daily Struggle” as its title.
“Two Buttons” eventually became the more common name because it describes the most recognizable part of the image: the two red buttons.
How the Meme Is Used
The Two Buttons template works best when the two labels create some kind of tension. They can be two things a person genuinely wants, two bad choices, two contradictory beliefs, or two options that are funny simply because they are difficult to compare.
For example, a simple version could have:
- Button 1: Go to sleep early
- Button 2: Watch one more episode
The sweating character then represents the person who knows they should sleep but really wants to keep watching.
The meme can also be used for more complicated jokes. Political arguments, fandom debates, work problems, gaming choices and everyday habits have all been adapted to the format.
What Makes the Two Buttons Meme So Effective?
The biggest reason is simplicity. The viewer understands the situation almost immediately: there are two choices, and the person cannot decide.
The sweating also makes the reaction exaggerated. A normal decision suddenly looks like an emergency. That contrast gives creators plenty of room to make ordinary situations funny.
Another advantage is that the template does not depend on a particular movie, television show or celebrity. The joke comes from the decision itself. This makes it easy for different communities to reuse the format.
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The Two Buttons Meme and Contradictions
Some of the strongest Two Buttons memes are not really about choosing between two unrelated things. They are about having two conflicting thoughts at the same time.
For example, a person might want to follow a healthy diet while also wanting to eat a large pizza. Both desires can be placed on the buttons. The character’s expression captures the struggle between them.
This also makes the template useful for satire. A meme creator can place two statements next to each other to point out a contradiction in someone’s behavior or argument.
The Both Buttons Variation
The original format is based on choosing one button, but a later variation changed the joke by allowing the character to press both buttons.
Artist Petirep posted a version of this idea in November 2020. Instead of continuing to struggle with the choice, the character presses both buttons and gives a thumbs-up. The joke changes from “I cannot choose” to “Why should I choose at all?”
This variation became useful when both options were desirable, or when the joke was that someone wanted to have it both ways.
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| Information | Details |
|---|---|
| Meme name | Two Buttons |
| Also known as | Daily Struggle |
| Creator | Jake Clark |
| Original date | October 25, 2014 |
| Original platform | Tumblr |
| Original concept | A sweating character struggling to choose between two red buttons |
| Original button labels | “BE A DICK” and “DON’T BE A DICK” |
| Main theme | Indecision, conflicting choices and contradictions |
| Major viral spread | Imgur and Reddit in 2015 |
| Imgur title | Daily Struggle |
| Character inspirations | Sweating Towel Guy and Hank Nova from TimeSplitters 2 |
| Common uses | Difficult choices, hypocrisy, conflicting desires, everyday problems and satire |
| Major variation | Both Buttons, where the character presses both options |
Is the Two Buttons Meme Still Popular?
Yes. The format has remained useful because it is not tied to one particular event or trend. New versions can be created whenever people encounter a funny choice or contradiction.
That is also why the meme has lasted much longer than many short-lived internet jokes. The original image provides the setup, while the creator supplies the situation.
More than a decade after Jake Clark first posted the comic, Two Buttons remains an instantly recognizable meme format. Its appeal is simple: sometimes two choices are enough to make a person sweat.
The original comic was created by animator Jake Clark. He posted it on Tumblr on October 25, 2014.
The meme is also known as the Daily Struggle meme, a name that became popular after the image was uploaded to Imgur in 2015.
The meme usually represents indecision or decision paralysis. It can also be used to show two conflicting desires, opinions, beliefs, or choices.
The original comic had the buttons labeled “BE A DICK” and “DON’T BE A DICK.” Later meme creators replaced these labels with their own jokes and situations.
The sweating exaggerates the character’s stress. Even when the decision is simple or silly, the character looks as if he is facing an extremely serious problem.