Nonprofit helps San Francisco high school students celebrate 'screen-free' prom

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- High school students look forward to their prom every year but Lick-Wilmerding High School in San Francisco tried something different: not allowing screens.

The push for the "screen-free prom" is the brainchild of nonprofit #HalfTheStory.

Founder and Executive Director Larissa May sat with ABC7 to talk about how the idea of a screen-free prom came to life and how #HalfTheStory helped support the students who spearheaded the endeavor.

"We didn't do much of anything other than help the teens do it themselves," May said. "It was actually a senior, who was the student body president, that said he wanted to be one of our teens to pilot this out. And, we just did what we could to support them by getting them lockers and be there on site so that teens could dance like nobody is watching."

MORE: What to know about new guidelines on screen time for teens, how to implement healthy screen habits

May said the program started with a "bottoms-up" approach by getting student approval first, and then approvals from the school administration. She said Pinterest even helped sponsor part of the event.

"Our goal is to take the fear out of the digital world and to make 'screen-free' fun. Because, if it's not fun, nobody is going to get behind it, especially kids" she said.

More information can be found at #HalfTheStory's website or by visiting its Pinterest page for the toolkit.

Watch the full interview in the player above.