The internet is with us to stay. The benefits are many and wonderful and, like all useful tools, it is capable of being used for ill.

The advent of the cyber bully is a clear and probably inevitable downside of the opportunities for communication offered to the majority of the human race.

The upside is that it is ever harder to conceal the many types of atrocities committed by man on man before the internet era.

But when the president of a powerful nation sees no reason not to emulate the school bully, who picks on those least able to respond to assert his or her dominance and status in the eyes of the surrounding sheep, then it is incumbent on the rest of us to stand up and be counted.

Donald Trump is setting the worst example to would-be bullies by seeming to legitimise Twitter to belittle and smear anyone who dares to criticise him or hold different views.

Referring to a female journalist as ‘bleeding badly from a face lift’ on Twitter is beyond disgusting and contrary to his wife Melania’s description of online bullying as ‘absolutely unacceptable’.

Trump has described Arianna Huffington as ‘unattractive inside and out’, Rosie O’Donnell as ‘fat, dumb and a loser’ and Megan Kelly as having ‘blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her wherever.’ These are the kind of unappealing words used by the mindless teenage bully online to isolate and hurt their victims.

It is the most cowardly kind of arm’s length bullying. But this man is unafraid of retribution because he is arrogant; he is the President of the United States who has realised that his power base is predominantly made up of those who feel aggrieved but superior by race and gender to anyone who is not like them.

And although the victims of his online bile are mainly women, they at least are intelligent, articulate and more able to withstand his unseemly outbursts than many victims of online abuse.

Social media can be legitimately used to campaign for justice, to target abusers and invite debate about their behaviour. But we should all challenge the use of the media by anyone simply to sneer, belittle, humiliate and hurt another human being. Sadly we can’t confiscate Trump’s phone.