People who often update their facebook status feel less lonely, reports Live Science.  According to the finding, less loneliness was linked to an increase in feeling more socially connected, which is believed to be the cause behind the positive effects of status updating.

Interestingly, loneliness levels did not depend on whether status updates garners any comments or "Likes" from Facebook friends. One might assume that a lack of response could be considered a form of rejection, but the act of writing a status update itself might help people feel more connected. When crafting a clever status, Facebook users have a target audience in mind. Simply thinking about their friends (or at least their Facebook friends) can have a "social snacking" effect.

Similar to a snack temporarily reducing hunger until the next meal, social snacking may help tolerate the lack of 'real' social interaction for a certain amount of time.