According to the findings of a research carried out by youth volunteering charity vInspired, one-third of the young people - aged between 14 and 18 years - have been victims of online `trolling' during the last six-month period.

In an indication that Internet trolling - that is, the act of sending abusive messages to others online - having become increasingly prevalent, the vInspired research revealed that, out of the 2,000 people who were questioned about the online trolling issue, 27 percent respondents admitted that they had been the subject of regular online attacks.

The victims of online trolling also revealed that the majority of abusive messages - approximately 40 percent - criticized their physical appearance; while religion or race were the reasons behind 16 percent of the attacks.

The research's findings also showed that over two thirds - nearly 67 percent - of the respondents said that the abusive messages are mostly sent by someone they know; with almost 47 percent of the victims also admitting that they kept the attacks secret.

About the effect of the online trolling incidents, for which social network Facebook has emerged as the most common forum, 29 percent of the respondents said that the abusive attacks had made them lose confidence in themselves.

Noting that online trolling is becoming a worrying phenomenon, social media expert Professor Mark Griffiths said: "The ability to remain anonymous online can lead to people saying what they may not [say] in person, over social networking channels."