Often, I reassure myself I am not the only person that has an obsession with looking at profiles obsessively. 45 percent of businesses across the United States use social media to screen out their employees. If they do it, why can’t I?

The information is public, so I don’t feel bad about prying myself into the personal information of others. I am driven and become obsessive about being the best/top/leader in a class or extracurricular activity. My facebook obsession, in my opinion, stems from my curiosity to see how I compare to my peers. I’ve always been this way. Ask any person who took classes with me in high school and they will most likely questioned him or her about the answers he or she got on a test. Why? Because I compare and position myself. It’s odd, but I am who I am.

So, when I look at Facebook, I often position myself against my friends and peers. “Are they in a relationship” leads to “why am I not in a relationship”. “How many internships did they have” turns into “I don’t have enough on my resume”.

There are times when I get a little pleasure when I position. For example, I busted my ass off in high school to get into UW-Madison. The year that I was admitted, roughly 50% of the 3,098 students from Minnesota who applied to UW-Madison were accepted . While some people were off partying and taking slacker courses, I (plus my close group of friends who I still speak with everyday) devoted my time to Advance Placement classes, sports, and extra curricular activities (to give you an idea, my roommate Max lead our student council to raise over $20,000 for charity in one week’s worth of events). Now, I am in one of the nation’s best strategic communication programs, taking on an additional “track” within my major, getting a certificate in business and graduating with honors. When I look at the profiles of people who fail to apply themselves in jr. college, I have no sympothy.

So, this brings me to a question I have no answer to: is it taboo to compare your success to the downfall of others? Part of me thinks that I don’t know the whole story about those who I knew in high school and now over Facebook. However, the other side of me screams that I should feel proud of my accomplishments in comparison to my peers. Also, I want to know if this mindset only exists in the school setting or if it transcends into work life? Can I give myself a pat on the back if I get a promotion while other employees are stuck in their baseline positions?

Well Facebook, you’ve made me analyze way too much about myself. If stalking is bad, I have another Facebook plan: become Farmville entrepreneur and finally beat my roommates in WordTwist.