It looks like the pixels on a tv screen, or like static. Especially noticeable in the dark, or against a solid-colored background.
It’s definitely not dust. It’s too concentrated and too small. It isn’t “floaters,” which are larger, and fleeting. It appears to be only in the air, and not resting on objects.
There is an article on “visual snow” on wikipedia that talks about this among other phenomenon such as floaters. Check it out if you need more description of what I’m talking about… the picture on wikipedia’s “visual snow” page is pretty close to what I’m describing. It’s not always moving like that (in fact I’ve personally never seen it move so frantically).
I’m just surprised that there isn’t more information as to what exactly it is. Wiki describes it as a “symptom” and people who see it as “sufferers” though I’m not inclined to think of it as any sort of malady or impairment.
I’m 25 with better than 20/20 vision tests. I’ve always seen it and assumed everybody could. I’m surprised many people I’ve asked had no idea what I was talking about. I wonder if they just hadn’t noticed. or perhaps it varies in intensity. Mine for example isn’t (usually) quite as intense as the picture on wikipedia. Maybe for some people they are less noticeable than mine.
How about YOU? I want to know your thoughts and experiences.
I have that, and now thanks to you I know a term for it!
When I was a kid, I thought it meant I was seeing the oxygen particles in the air.
The only downside is that I’m the last person to ask if you want to know if it’s raining outside. You know, when it’s not really raining but more of a spraying mist, or just a thin rain.
I’ll look and look but will be unable, short of getting outside and feeling the wetness, to say if it’s really raining or if it’s just my eyes.
I have, but usually in the dark or low light situations. I’d sort of guessed, but do not know, that only some of the light receptors in my eyes were getting enough light to be triggered, and my brain is filling in the gaps the way it’s been trained to interpret low resolution images in the digital age.
The pixels are generally black and white, although the one time I’ve done LSD, they were in colors, and each “pixel” was bigger than normal, looking more like early Mario Bros., and they moved into images of their own accord. This only happened when I was actually looking at the inside of my eyelids or a very neutral background like the wall of my tent.
Ha! When I looked at the gif on the Wikipedia page the first time, I saw the square as solid and thought my browser wasn’t compatible or something. I could see it when I took off my glasses and looked closer, but I realized part of the reason I didn’t see it is because I experience that phenomenon a lot.
I’ve had this constantly since I had Lyme disease this fall. I’m irritated because I can’t seem to remember if I had it before and ignored it or if it’s really gotten much worse.
I have a memory as a pre-teen sitting out at night in our hot tub, so my glasses were off, and remarking on how weird darkness looked without corrective lenses. Of course, now I see the static whether I’m wearing contacts or glasses or nothing, as long as it’s somewhat dim.
I’m not really sure if it’s the same visual effect from my childhood memory or if I’m just imagining it’s the same… I don’t have any memory of noticing the static in the intervening 20 years but I’m not sure it would have ever occurred to me that anyone DIDN’T see it.
wow… you actually did LSD. in a TENT. that stuff is hard to find these days. You must be a bona fide flower child. There is rumor the visual snow is triggered or exacerbated by drug use. I’m a pothead, few times did shrooms.
The explanation about light receptor neurons being triggered seems to be the best one. I’m still holding out hope that it’s actually the spirit world we are seeing…
Too young by about 25 years to be a real Flower Child, sadly. But the LSD did come from an authentic Old Hippie. It was liquid, even, and she wasn’t sure how old it was, or how potent, after so many years. It was sure as hell potent enough for me, I’ll tell you that! She says it was pretty mild, but I could. not. sleep.* and the Mario visuals were…annoying, mostly. Nothing I really want to do again. Like really potent shrooms and caffeine mixed, and you can’t make it stop. I’d much rather do shrooms (where things don’t pixelate for me, but get very…melty), but I can’t really find them anymore.
*Why did nobody tell me this FIRST? I’m used to weed and/or alcohol, where if I get tired of the high, I just go to sleep until it’s done. No, with LSD you can’t fucking sleep, so you lay there in your tent staring at Mario Bros. dragons on the wall while you try not to grind your teeth and count the hours until you have to be up teaching a workshop at 8am. Good times.
Yes! I have rather poor vision, and the visual snow is very noticeable with my glasses off. With my glasses on, it is much less apparent but still there.
I also get the Blue field entoptic phenomenon, which I just now found out what it was. When I’d described it to someone, they’d tell me it was a visual migraine.
I’ve always seen them and thought everybody did. Like BleizDu, I can’t just look out a window and tell if there’s precipitation. Since my stroke when I lost part of my vision, surfaces seem to have a skim of water on them. I’ve learned to touch the counters before I start mopping up.
I see visual snow when standing at a particular crosswalk, staring down at the black road. Then, it’s pretty clear (almost like the Wikipedia picture) but I’ve never gotten it anywhere else, apart from once or twice in a pitch-black room.
I’ve read that everyone has it, it’s just that your brain usually ignores it (similar to how you ignore fast eye movements.) Examples when it doesn’t is in high anxiety situations, where you are hyper alert and your brain doesn’t want to miss anything. (I noticed it a lot during benzo withdrawal, for example.) Or you can notice it when you are more tired and your brain doesn’t bother filtering it.
It’s worse in low light, for the reason WhyNot mentioned. I even sometimes would have flickering in the right light conditions, as the “pixels” would be just at the threshold level of activation.
Yep, had it forever. I can see it easily on any plain light colored background. It’s more than just visual white noise. If you look at it and focus on different depths, you can see other things, like light trails. Floaters are there too but separate.
Funny thing, when I was in grad school 30 years ago, I asked the vision people in the Psych department about this stuff and they didn’t recognize what I was describing.
Too young by about 25 years to be a real Flower Child, sadly. But the LSD did come from an authentic Old Hippie. It was liquid, even, and she wasn’t sure how old it was, or how potent, after so many years. It was sure as hell potent enough for me, I’ll tell you that! She says it was pretty mild, but I could. not. sleep.* and the Mario visuals were…annoying, mostly. Nothing I really want to do again. Like really potent shrooms and caffeine mixed, and you can’t make it stop. I’d much rather do shrooms (where things don’t pixelate for me, but get very…melty), but I can’t really find them anymore.