We all know that exciting time in a new relationship: you can't eat because you have butterflies in your stomach and you can't sleep because you stay up researching their ex on the internet. Somehow Facebook stalking has become one of the most socially acceptable forms for dating detective work, but it doesn't always start and stop with the person you're romantically interested in. Regardless of whether it helps or hurts the romance going forward, you can learn a lot from scrolling back into their past relationships and looking around.

If he has good taste

Contrary to popular belief, we want your ex to be awesome. Knowing that he's into impressive women makes most of us feel impressive by association. It only becomes intimidating when we bring our own insecurities into it. That's only going to distract you from your research.

If he has a type

If looking at his ex feels more like looking in a mirror, you might be a part of a budding pattern, rather than relationship. Be thankful for having social media to set off these similarity alarms before you're in too deep.

If he's just on the rebound

If looking at her Facebook suddenly makes you feel like he's not totally over her (or that into you), then it's probably not what's on the page. Unless he's commenting her statuses, it's likely from signals he's been giving off all along.

If your personality matters

We all put edited versions of ourselves out there with social media, so when you look at her Facebook you're seeing how she wants to be perceived. Seeing only seemingly superficial updates is not an excuse to judge, but a reason to value the depth you bring to a new relationship. If he doesn't seem to appreciate it, then it might not be worth pursuing further.

If he was into PDA

PDA can come in many different forms on social media, and knowing how he approached it in the past may give you some insight into the future of your affections. From past pictures together to posting cute animal videos on her wall, you want to know how he was with her — even if it makes you sad about how he is with you.

If anyone got hurt

There are a lot of clues as to how a breakup went down on her Facebook. Did she go through the trouble of untagging all of their pictures? Did they unfriend each other? Are her statuses just song lyrics about getting cheated on? A dramatic breakup is one thing, a drama magnet is another. See more than what you want to see and act on red flags accordingly.

If there's still feelings

Along with clues about the breakup, we're also looking for any indication of lingering feelings. Many people are able to have friendships with exes, but immediately displaying how cool they are on social media through likes, posts or just banter on comment threads is a bit much.