#HalfTheStory (Is Off Your Social Media Platforms)

Politely Pushy with Eric Chemi

Today we welcome Larissa (“Larz”) May to the podcast. Larz is the founder of #HalfTheStory, which began as a grassroots movement and led to a larger initiative and speaking opportunities about emotional well-being and the importance of self-care in an age of social media and an obsession with posting on platforms like Instagram and Tik Tok. Larz was named a “digital wellness activist” by major news outlets like Time, Forbes, Refinery29, Good Morning America, and NBC. Her community-building initiatives led to the world-renowned “Global Day of Unplugging,” an annual event held on August 6. Larz discusses own her mental health journey with our host and how it was the brainchild of #HalfTheStory. She talks about the thrills, the highs, and the lows of social media, and how all of it can feel just like jonesing for psychedelics and coming down from a beautiful place only to realize one’s dependence on the vapidness and superficiality that a false sense of security that Instagram “likes” creates. #HalfTheStory is now a more significant movement devoted to people sharing their stories, helping them unplug, and acknowledging that there’s more to life than social media acceptance and addiction. And that they can employ social media in productive rather than wasteful ways. Tune in to find out more about what that means!