Red button or blue button? The seemingly simple question is today’s latest iteration of classic trolley problem-esque, controversy-sparking dilemma. It has plagued social media platforms from X to TikTok, leaving widespread disagreement in its wake.
The hypothetical presents two options: press the red button and guarantee your own safety, or press the blue button and risk your safety for the safety of others.
Most people look at this question and see the obvious answer. However, no one can seem to agree as to what that obvious answer is.
The divide exists even in the grassroots level of WT’s halls. According to a Voices poll, WT students find themselves split almost exactly 50/50 between red and blue, leaning slightly towards blue. As you can see in the chart below, 50.5% of students chose the blue button, 47.3% chose the red button, and 2.2% were unsure of which button to choose.
The near-even divide highlights the widespread differences in how people approach this question. For some students, the issue comes down to ideas and empathy. For others, it is a matter of realism and self-preservation.
When asked for further thoughts on the situation, one anonymous red-choosing respondent wrote: “Although morally the blue button is “correct” to choose, logically and realistically my best chance to survive is the red button. People love to claim moral high ground, but realistically, in this situation, most would choose their own life over some collaborative long shot.”
Another anonymous student, who chose the red button, wrote: “My interest also aids the general interest.”
These two sentiments represent a common argument for the red button, which is that everyone has the chance to save themselves by pressing it. Students who chose red also argued that moral principles are harder to uphold when personal risk is involved, and that they could not trust that enough people would choose blue.
On the other side, students who chose the blue button focused less on strategy and more on conscience. Many respondents expressed that they would feel too guilty if they chose red and allowed those who chose blue to suffer. Some blue-button supporters went so far as to say that anyone who chooses red is inherently selfish, and that they wouldn’t want to live in a world with people who picked the red button.
The debate’s popularity online may stem from the fact that there is no universally pleasing answer. The red button can seem cold and self-focused, while the blue button potentially creates a problem that would not exist otherwise. Time and time again, people find themselves divided almost exactly down the middle.
WT students, much like people on the internet, remain divided on this hypothetical. While some see the blue button as the morally responsible choice, others view the red button as the more realistic choice.
