The Facebook 'Like-A-Hug' jacket

While social media means we can stay in touch with every person we've met in the history of the world ever, it also means we're spending much less real time with our mates and instead spend hours looking at their painstakingly shot Instagram pictures of yet another sunset.

But fret no more about your lack of physical contact with your friends as the brains at MIT have created the perfect coat for those who are feeling a little unloved - the jacket which hugs you when you get a 'like' on Facebook.

MIT Media Lab’s Tangible Media Group designed the item by installing a fan that turns on wirelessly to inflate the vest when the wearer receives a 'like'.

Explaining how it works, one of the designers Melissa Chow said: "Like-A-Hug is a wearable social media vest that allows for hugs to be given via Facebook, bringing us closer despite physical distance. The vest inflates when friends ‘Like’ a photo, video, or status update on the wearer’s wall, thereby allowing us to feel the warmth, encouragement, support, or love that we feel when we receive hugs. Hugs can also be sent back to the original sender by squeezing the vest and deflating it."

Seeing as we spend most of our time on the interweb we'll be ordering one as soon as they're available.

like a hug HR 1 2 from Melissa Chow on Vimeo.