Facebook is one of the best things to happen to us in terms of happiness, according to science

Apparently it's as good as your wedding day?

There's been endless research conducted into the impact that social media - particularly Facebook - has on our lives. We've previously reported what Facebook is doing to your brain (and your friendships), and then there was the idea that Facebook is behind falling teen pregnancy rates. So, you know, it's clear that it has a pretty big influence on the way we live our lives.

The latest research is particularly interesting, though: Despite a lot of people thinking the contrary, scientists have found that Facebook is making us really happy. Like, as happy as we are when we buy a house, get married or have babies kind of happy. A recent study, carried out by researchers from both Carnegie Mellon University and Facebook, has found that social media interactions have a major impact on our well-being and happiness.

According to the study's press release, Facebook interactions 'can have a major impact on a person's feelings of well-being and satisfaction with life just as much as getting married or having a baby' - who knew Facebook had so much power?

It's important to note that it's not just random likes on our profile picture that make us happy, though - our happiness comes from the people we care about taking time to write meaningful comments on our profiles.

'We're not talking anything that's particularly labour-intensive,' says Moira Burke, a Facebook researcher who has a Ph.D. from Carnegie Mellon University. '[It] can be a comment that's just a sentence or two.

'The important thing is that someone has taken the time to personalise it. The content may be uplifting, and the mere act of communication reminds recipients of the meaningful relationships in their lives.'

So there you have it folks, the key to our happiness actually lies with our Facebook friends and family.