Hundreds of cases of cyber bullying have been reported by schools across Scotland in the past three years, new figures have revealed.
The numbers, obtained by the Scottish Conservatives, show at least 524 incidents have been recorded, but the majority of local authorities did not provide information.
In Angus, 89 cases have been reported since 2010/11, while that number was 70 in Perth and Kinross. Dundee, Fife, Stirling and Clackmannanshire councils all failed to respond to the freedom of information request.
Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson said flashpoints have included children as young as eight verbally abusing each other via social media and youngsters exchanging insults over games consoles.
There were also incidents reported of children filming bullying, then threatening to share the images online.
Police have been involved in dealing with cyber bullying on numerous occasions, while several children were excluded for their behaviour.
In some cases teachers were involved in additional training to deal with online bullying, while parents were summoned to meetings in school to resolve the problem.
Ms Davidson said: “The picture painted here is extremely worrying, which is why we need local authorities to do more to collect and publish this information.
“The lives of hundreds, if not thousands, of children are being made a misery as a result of cyber bullying.
“That is a disgraceful situation and, with young lives being damaged, the Scottish Government need to take a lead on this.”
An Angus Council spokeswoman said: “Angus Council takes a zero-tolerance approach to bullying and has robust policies in place to deal with bullying in all its forms, including cyber bullying.”
A spokesman for Perth and Kinross Council said the authority has a proactive anti-bullying strategy, as well as robust policies and procedures are designed to protect school pupils using the internet.
He added: “Bullying is not an increasing problem in our schools, but we are never complacent and it will never be tolerated.
“Every report of bullying is taken very seriously indeed. The council launched an updated anti-bullying strategy last month.”