One in five children has said they have been bullied online – that is twice the level of bullying parents think is going on.

Zenith Optimedia surveyed 1,000 adults and almost 200 children about their experiences of harassment online.

The research found that Irish parents are underestimating the level of cyberbullying – with just one in 10 saying they think their child has been bullied.

According to the ZenithOptimedia research, half (51%) of online bullying in children happens on Facebook while 14% say they experienced harassment via Instagram.

Bullying using Snapchat was higher among girls than boys at 29% and 16% respectively. Of those that have been cyberbullied a third say they have experienced feelings of depression because of it.

Online bullying does not always stop at childhood and often continues into adult years.

One in 10 adults have said they have been bullied online, with one in four women reporting body shaming online.

Declan Kelly, Deputy MD at ZenithOptimedia, commented: “We carried out this research to look at how Irish people are interacting with the internet on a daily basis but also to examine how safe the internet is.

“What we found was that quite a large proportion of Irish children have experienced some form of online bullying. What it also showed was the inconsistency between parents’ perception of what’s happening with their children online and the reality.”