At least one in four Irish teenagers have been bullied online, a new survey has found.

The survey of almost 5,000 teenagers in 11 countries, including Ireland, revealed that 26% of Irish teens have been the victims of cyberbullying and 60% feel that this type of bullying is worse than being bullied face to face.

Other countries which took part in the survey included the UK, Germany, Spain, the US and New Zealand. Among these countries, Ireland had the third highest rate of cyberbullying (26%), just behind the US (27%) and New Zealand (30%).

The lowest rates of cyberbullying were found in Spain and Czechoslovakia (both 8%), and Italy (11%).

The survey also revealed that when it came to knowing other people who have been cyberbullied, Irish teens topped the list at 85%. This compared to just 51% of teens in the Netherlands.

Meanwhile, the survey also noted that among teens who had been cyberbullied, 45% said they felt helpless, while 29% said they felt completely alone. Some 25% admitted to having suicidal thoughts as a result of the bullying.

The survey was carried out by YouGov on behalf of Vodafone. The results were released to coincide with the launch of the Vodafone Ireland anti-cyberbullying initiative, #BeStrong. The initiative includes the creation of a number of ‘support emojis' for teenagers to use when their friends are being bullied online, after it was found that many do not know what to say in such a situation.

These emojis were chosen by the almost 5,000 teenagers who took part in the survey, along with a range of experts in this field, and can be downloaded here

The initiative is being supported by the ISPCC.

"We know, through our day to day work, that cyberbullying can leave a young person feeling vulnerable, frightened and alone. As a society we need to work together to tackle cyberbullying and equip young people with the confidence and skills needed to safely navigate this new world they inhabit and this campaign demonstrates how this can be achieved and utilises mediums that young people can connect with," commented ISPCC chief executive, Grainia Long.

Also speaking about the initiative, clinical psychologist, David Coleman, emphasised that non-verbal communication is essential, however, ‘in an online world, there is no such non-verbal behaviour'.

"Instead we rely on acronyms and emojiis to explain the emotional tone of what we are trying to say. The development of these emojis gives more choice and an easy shorthand for teens to show support and empathy with their peers who are being bullied. Making it easier for teens to support and stand up for each other might lessen the distress and isolation that cyberbullying can cause," he said.

Prof Dacher Keltner, a psychologist at Berkeley University in the US who advised on the creation of the characters in the Pixar film, Inside Out, helped to choose the emojis for this initiative. You can watch a video of him explaining the importance of teenagers being able to show support to their bullied peers here