I'll try to be more clear. No promises.

Let's assume there is a social comparison element to self-esteem. Whether it be strength, intelligence, tennis ability, driving skills, beauty—People reference where they stand in any given dimension among the total population to gauge how they feel about themselves.

If you are in the 99th percentile of a good trait based on the portion of the population you're aware of, you generally feel good about identifying with that. Given awareness of a large enough population, you might fall from 99th to the 50th percentile. Or to the 10th. Your trait was unchanged, but your awareness of it's rank among the whole population changed.

Is it possible this exponential leap in the sheer number of people we can (or are almost forced to) compare ourselves because of the internet corresponds directly to the hit our self-esteem takes? If so, how severe are the consequences?

I've read some about 'Facebook Depression', where one of the components is the envy and disillusionment that comes from seeing how everyone else is doing cool things while you're sitting at home. I was just wondering about people's thoughts about the Internet writ large.