A photo of Molly Lensing that was taken without her permission went viral years ago. The mother from Illinois believes the image has stayed with her and she wishes to clear the air.

The photograph was taken in a Colorado airport in 2016, as Lensing and her youngest daughter, Anastasia, attempted to return home after spending time with family…

When her infant is napping on a blanket on the airport floor, Lensing can be seen staring at her phone screen.

Lensing was immediately mocked online as a mother who was more concerned with her phone than with her child, and the shot became a meme with several judgemental words connected to it.

“I dread the day when technology will supplant our humanity… “A generation of idiots will populate the planet,” one version predicts.

Lensing believes that the image’s distribution not only violated her privacy but that there is much more to the story than the photo reveals.

“We were unfortunate enough to be stranded in the middle of the Delta computer shut-down,” Lensing explained to TODAY.com in 2017.

Her flights were so regularly delayed and re-booked that she spent more than 20 hours in airports – with a 2-month-old…

“Anastasia had been held or carried for several hours. My arms were aching. She needs to get some exercise “Lensing stated. “And I had to speak with all of the family members who were wondering where we were.”

Lensing noticed the image of herself spreading online a few months after her traumatic vacation experience.

She began receiving messages on Facebook when a few viewers identified her by name. Some supported her, while others chastised her for being a “bad parent.”

“I absolutely feel like my privacy was violated,” said Lensing, a part-time pediatric nurse. “I’d just started working on a labor floor, and I was frightened of my coworkers or employer seeing the photo and remarks and concluding that I shouldn’t be dealing with infants anymore. Fortunately, this never happened.”