Those with low self-esteem might just want to think twice before posting woeful status updates to Facebook.

According to a new study, set to be published in the journal Psychological Science, those with low self-esteem often bombard friends with negative messages about their lives, making themselves less likeable.

"We had this idea that Facebook could be a really fantastic place for people to strengthen their relationships," the study's co-author Amanda Forest, a graduate student at the University of Waterloo, said in a statement.

But the researchers found this was often not the case for those with a low self-esteem. In reality, those who think poorly of themselves "behave counter-productively" on the popular social media site by posting negative messages that bother friends.

In the study, researchers asked students to provide their last 10 status updates that were visible to Facebook friends. Then, other students — called "coders" — looked at the messages and rated how positive or negative they were, and how much they liked the person who wrote each of them.

"People with low self-esteem were more negative than people with high self-esteem — and the coders liked them less," the researchers said in a statement.

But when questioned about their feelings about Facebook, those with a low opinion of themselves were actually more likely than those with a high self-esteem to think the social media site helps them connect with others, the researchers found.

In general, those with low self-esteem get more responses from their actual Facebook friends when they post positive messages. Conversely, those with a high self-esteem get more responses when they post negative messages, likely because they don't often do so.

"If you're talking to somebody in person and you say something, you might get some indication that they don't like it, that they're sick of hearing your negativity," Forest said. "On Facebook, you don't see most of the reactions."

Meanwhile, a previous study found that found that Facebook leads to stress and anxiety, with many even saying the negative psychological effects outweigh the benefits of staying in touch through the site. And, teens who use social media may be more likely to abuse drugs and alcohol.

A study released by Pew today also found that the average Facebook users gets more than they give on the social network.

In other Facebook news, the company this week filed for a $5 billion IPO. For more, see What a Facebook IPO Means For Users, Facebook IPO: What They're Saying, How Much Are Facebook Execs Making?, and the slideshow below.