Kiwi men suffer just as much abuse online as women do, according to new research - but they don't think it's as big a problem overall, and are less likely to report it.
Computer security company Symantec on Wednesday released the results of its latest survey on online harassment, focusing on men's experiences. It follows a similar survey of women, released in July.
Perhaps surprisingly, the exact same proportion of men under 30 reported being harassed online as women - 72 percent. Overall, more men - 58 percent - say they've been bullied than women - 52 percent.
"Across both genders harassment is a big problem," says Mark Shaw, Norton security expert at Symantec.
But only 56 percent of men said they thought online harassment was a serious problem, compared to 70 percent of women.
"Men are targeted for slightly different reasons and react slightly differently to women when it comes to online harassment," says Mr Shaw.
While one in 10 women under 44 reported being threatened with sexual violence and rape, they didn't rate a mention in the men's results.
Nearly half of all abuse directed at men doesn't specify why they're being harassed at all. When it is specified, the main targets are:
"If you're disadvantaged in the physical world, that's carrying over into the online world and becoming as much if not more of a problem," says Mr Shaw.
Men are more likely than women to take the fight back in the physical world, with 3 percent admitting to reacting with physical violence.
Anger is the most common response though (36 percent), followed by depression (14 percent), anxiety (13 percent), feelings of violation and abuse (10 percent), helplessness (9 percent) and suicidal thoughts (7 percent).
"New Zealand has a massive issue with suicide, especially in the younger population, and more and more we're starting to realise online harassment is a significant contributor to both depression and suicide," says Mr Shaw.
Kiwi YouTube personality Kris Fox has heard it all, saying he's been targeted with "every kind" of abuse imaginable.
"I'm an easy target - I'm very feminine, I'm very flamboyant online. I've had people message me saying 'you should go and kill myself', 'you're not natural'. They've just said very nasty things to me."
Kris Fox (Facebook)
While the gay 23-year-old mostly just tries to block out the trolls, he sometimes opts to confront them - not in the real world, but from behind the screen.
"If it really hits me hard and I get really offended by it I take a screenshot and I tell them, 'I've got a screenshot of what you did. I can report you.'"
He's never gone to the police. Mr Shaw says most men wouldn't even think about it - but they should.
"Men tend to react by sweeping it under the covers and having a 'she'll-be-right' attitude, and in some cases react inappropriately - threats of physical violence or death threats, which of course is not the way to deal with it."
Mr Shaw says men shouldn't hesitate to report threats to the police.
"That will give the visibility of the problem, and that will ultimately trickle down into more resourcing."
Mr Shaw says a big problem is that social networks have grown so fast, so quickly, it's been hard not just for users but the companies behind them to keep up.
"It was only last month that Instagram added the ability to disable comments - but then again, only for celebrities with verified celebrity accounts," he says.
"We'd like to see that pushed out to more social media platforms. Facebook today you can't disable comments, which I think is a massive oversight."
Users should follow what he calls the three Rs - review your privacy settings, recognise when abuse is happening, and report it to relevant authorities.
Fox says ultimately however, the "haters" just need to realise they're wrong.
"You wouldn't go up to someone and say to them, 'you should go and kill yourself'. It's terrible."
If you or someone you know is in crisis and needs immediate help, call Lifeline on 0800 543 354 or the Suicide Prevention Helpline on 0508 828 865.
Newshub.