The Jacket That Makes Internet Hugs Feel Real With Facebook Likes

If you are like me, for years you’ve been typing Internet hugs to your friends on social media sites. When some people type those hugs, they don’t mean anything. To other people though, they really have the intention of a real hug behind them. Have you ever wondered what it would be like if you could actually feel an Internet hug? I’ve thought about that a million times, and I even wrote about it a year ago in 5 Kinds Of Twitter Hugs & What They Reveal About You.

Apparently other people think about that too because we’ve probably featured a half dozen products over the years that try to bridge the gap between social media friends by making those Internet hugs seem more authentic. Today I’d like to share another one of those designs with you, and this time, it comes in the form of a coat or vest. It’s called the Like-a-hug, and even though it’s not practical at all, it’s still a cute concept. The reason it’s not practical is because in order for it to work properly, everyone would have to walk around wearing these things.

It works like this…When someone “likes” a status update, photo or video of yours on Facebook, you would feel the vest inflate and squeeze you, like a hug. So each time a friend “likes” you, you get a hug. Then, you could take your phone out of your pocket, see who just gave you a hug, and send them an Internet hug back by “liking” something of theirs, and they would feel their vest hug them also. Melissa Kit Chow, Andy Payne and Phil Seaton developed this at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. I’m a fan of any technology that enhances Internet hugs, so I’m all over this! I wonder how warm this jacket is in the winter. Hmm…