u/Artemis_Elena_

I saw an image on the Internet sometime before 2010 that I’m trying to locate. I can see it so clearly in my mind‘s eye, but I can’t find it anywhere.

It was a digital illustration of a child sitting in the corner of a decrepit apartment with VR glasses on. And in the eye circles of the glasses you could see the beautiful blues and greens of the fake world reflected, but everything around him was gray and falling apart. The wallpaper was peeling. The reflected world in the glasses showed just a little bit of paradise (not just colors), but I don’t remember if it was an ocean or trees. The headset was bulky like 90s VR and had many wires coming out of it. It covered the top half of his head/face.

The child was somewhere around 12-15 years old. They seemed very androgynous, but I think they were a boy. I’m not sure though. They sat with their butt on the floor and their back against the wall. I think their knees were pulled up against their chest. Their expression was happy, but not manic. They weren’t smiling with a bunch of teeth, they just seemed genuinely content.

I don’t remember whether or not the child was barefoot, but I think they were. I think they were a little bit ragged looking too, like no one was caring for them.

The illustration itself was very very well done. And the mood of the image was closer to social satire or melancholy surrounding technology. It wasn’t creepy, it was tragic. Like the illusion was the only good thing in the child’s life.

The image was in portrait orientation, not landscape.

I definitely found the image in some sort of image aggregating site. Probably 4Chan or Tumblr.

I am not interested in an AI image based on my memory. I want to find the original version. Can anyone help me? Does anyone else remember the illustration?

I saw an image on the Internet sometime before 2010 that I’m trying to locate. I can see it so clearly in my mind‘s eye, but I can’t find it anywhere.

It was a digital illustration of a child sitting in the corner of a decrepit apartment with VR glasses on. And in the eye circles of the glasses you could see the beautiful blues and greens of the fake world reflected, but everything around him was gray and falling apart. The wallpaper was peeling. The reflected world in the glasses showed just a little bit of paradise (not just colors), but I don’t remember if it was an ocean or trees. The headset was bulky like 90s VR and had many wires coming out of it. It covered the top half of his head/face.

The child was somewhere around 12-15 years old. They seemed very androgynous, but I think they were a boy. I’m not sure though. They sat with their butt on the floor and their back against the wall. I think their knees were pulled up against their chest. Their expression was happy, but not manic. They weren’t smiling with a bunch of teeth, they just seemed genuinely content.

I don’t remember whether or not the child was barefoot, but I think they were. I think they were a little bit ragged looking too, like no one was caring for them.

The illustration itself was very very well done. And the mood of the image was closer to social satire or melancholy surrounding technology. It wasn’t creepy, it was tragic. Like the illusion was the only good thing in the child’s life.

The image was in portrait orientation, not landscape.

I definitely found the image in some sort of image aggregating site. Probably 4Chan or Tumblr.

I am not interested in an AI image based on my memory. I want to find the original version. Can anyone help me? Does anyone else remember the illustration?