If someone likes a post on Facebook, you want to really feel it, not just see the thumbs-up. A new jacket will let you know when your post is liked in the form of a squeeze.
Getting ‘likes’ on Facebook is like some kind of affirmation you posted something right, be it a cute picture of your animals, a witty political repartee, or a status about some new fancy meal you cooked that did not cause you to burn down your kitchen. Either way, let’s be honest, we thrive on likes. It means people are reading what we have to say. It provides validation for all the stupid things that flow through our brains that we opt to post on the social networking giant that is Facebook. But what if ‘likes’ just aren’t enough? What if you wanted a little bit more? Well, now one designer in the United States is looking to turn our ‘likes’ into hugs with a new Facebook Jacket.
Called the “Like-A-Hug,” and designed by Melissa Chow, a student at MIT, this wearable social media vest gives you hugs via Facebook, no matter where in the world the ‘like’ comes from. The vest inflates when someone likes something on your Facebook page, stimulating a hug.
According to Chow, this vest, “Allows 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. The project was done as an exercise and exploration in shape display.”
The concept was created during a conversation regarding the limitations associated with video chat interfaces and holding long distance relationships. After some talks about wireless technology, the idea for this vest was instantly created. The Like-A-Hug pushes past the “traditional graphic user interface” to create something new and interesting. It works by inflating when the user’s mobile phone sends out a signal that something on a person’s Facebook page has been liked.
I don’t know about you, but if someone had this vest, I’d click ‘like’ on everything on their page, just to have the vest keep giving the person hugs. And no, this would not be out of love and admiration, but really because it gives me an opportunity to annoy the living daylights out of someone. Imagine if they were talking to someone and every few minutes their vest kept inflating. It makes me giggle with reckless abandonment.
For more Facebook-related stories, read about Facebook adding a same-sex icon to their timeline function and the Facebook ‘Like’ Oven Mitt.
