At the touch of a button we can order shopping, chat with people all over the world, and even earn a living.

Yet, for all the benefits the internet brings, there are also plenty of dangers.

Some people’s lives are played out on social networking sites, but the counter-effects of sharing information can cause much distress.

According to recent statistics, a third of young people aged between 14 and 18 have been victims of online abuse in the past six months.

But research by a youth charity has found that as many as one in ten of those surveyed say they carry out ‘trolling’ attacks, with many believing there is nothing wrong with it.

More than a quarter (27 per cent) of those questioned said they were the subject of regular attacks, with the majority of the messages being criticism of the victim’s appearance (40 per cent) or about their religion or race (16 per cent).

Sustained abuse resulted in almost a third of those questioned losing confidence in themselves, but despite the detrimental effect, nearly a quarter admit they find trolling funny and almost a third say they do it because their friends do so too.

A new campaign, Lolz not Trolls, is aimed at tackling the problem and has been launched by youth volunteering charity vInspired, which carried out the research.

Backed by celebrities including reality TV star Lauren Goodger, presenter Caroline Flack and singer Delilah, the campaign gives young people the opportunity to make a positive pledge not to troll.

It also gives teenagers information on appropriate online behaviour by following a set of ‘netiquette’ guidelines, with the aim of making social media sites happier and safer.

The research showed evidence of a ‘digital disconnection’ about trolling, with nearly one in five thinking messages sent online are less damaging than insults hurled face to face, and nearly half believing it is okay to say things online that you would not in person.

Professor Mark Griffiths, a social media expert who is working with vInspired on the campaign, says the phenomenon is growing as more youngsters grow up in the digital world.

“The ability to remain anonymous online can lead to people saying what they may not in person over social networking channels,” says Prof Griffiths.

“Young people need to understand the consequences that these comments can have, and it’s important to teach them how to use social media correctly, to make the internet a safer and happier place.”

He has helped to create a downloadable guide of do’s and don’ts for using social media, which is available from facebook.com/DoSomethingUK.

Terry Ryall, chief executive of vInspired, says: “We have all heard of cases where youngsters have harmed themselves due to troll attacks, so writing a trolling message isn’t harmless fun, it’s potentially deadly.

“Our aim isn’t to attack the trolls, but instead to get young people to do something positive and pledge not to be a troll themselves, abiding by the ‘netiquette’ guide we have created.”

Adam Woodhouse, senior youth worker with The Edge, a neighbourhood youth group on Bradford’s Holme Wood estate, believes many young people feel detached from reality when they are online.

“It’s easy to say things online which you would never say face to face because you can’t see the person, it’s ‘not real’,” he says. “And because it’s online, for example on Facebook or Twitter, it’s spread very quickly and people join it who may have never even met the person involved. This can be very hurtful to a young person.

“The other challenge is use of texting to bully a young person and the rise of sexting. Young people who think they are sending a private message to a boy/girlfriend suddenly find a very private message sent very quickly around the school.

“I would say it’s worse than physical bullying in some ways because the online nature makes it wider and involves many more people. It gets into your home and can make young people feel very alone and isolated. It’s much harder to stop.”

The Edge runs online safety sessions for young people to learn about the legal aspects and keeping safe on the internet.

For more information about the sessions, call (01274) 689306.