The study was carried out for knowthenet.org.uk, a free online site offering advice on how to stay safe online.

Media psychologist Arthur Cassidy said online bullying could have a "massive impact" on older male teenagers.

"Suicide rates are particularly high amongst this demographic, so it's worrying to hear that teenagers on the whole are choosing to deal with internet abuse themselves rather than speaking to parents or teachers for help," he said.

"Whilst some might expect girls to be more vulnerable online, this study shows that older boys are more at risk from trolling and cyber-bullying," he said.

"Many boys feel under pressure to demonstrate their bravado, particularly on the web, but this attitude and male deficiency in coping strategies can make them more vulnerable and open to trolling," he said.

"There is no place for harassment on Facebook, but unfortunately a small minority of malicious individuals exist online, just as they do offline," a Facebook spokesman was quoted as saying by the paper.

"We have a real name policy and provide people with simple tools to block people or report content which they find threatening so that we can remove it quickly," the spokesman said.

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