Effective strategies and actions that teachers, parents, youth workers can apply to reduce and/or eliminate cyberbullying or online hate speech related to

When exploring the causes of cyberbullying among pupils, Patchin, Hinduja (2011) point out that sometimes a person is not even aware of who is being bullied and why he or she is being bullied in cyberspace. Povilaitis, Valiukevičiūtė (2006) argue that certain personality differences create favourable conditions for becoming a victim of cyberbullying. Jokubaitė (2014) identifies internal, environmental and individual reasons for bullying. Olweus (2008) believes that four factors are important and significant in the context of the causes of bullying: the emotional attitude of the parents, especially the mother, towards the child in the first years of life, the tolerance of the pupil’s aggressive behaviour in the family, the parenting methods, and the child’s temperament. According to Girdvainis (2013), bullying can also be explained as a lack of social skills, as pupils face considerable difficulties in attracting attention, standing out or fitting in with their peer group. The lack of social skills, like the development of aggressive behaviour, is usually explained by the influence of the child’s immediate environment. The personality of the bully, his/her situation in life and the problems he/she is experiencing are more likely to determine who will be object of bully. Pupils become bullies because of lack of attention and recognition, jealousy and competition. Those who feel unappreciated may humiliate those who are appreciated and praised by others. According to Atrauskaitė (2010), a wide range of pupils are victims of bullying. Girdvainis (2013) points out that students with disabilities or other physiological disorders are quite often victims of bullying. Highly gifted, intelligent, creative and pupils with exceptional abilities can also be targeted. Such pupils may be jealous of the attention they receive from teachers and parents. In other cases, quiet, calm, nondemonstrative, weaker pupils are victims of bullying. Those who are bullied and insulted by older, stronger pupils or even parents are more likely to be bullies. As they experience aggression themselves, they take their anger out on the weaker ones, creating a hierarchy of violence: the stronger ones humiliate the weaker ones. Astrauskaitė (2010) explains that it is not the victims but the abusers who have problems and therefore start hurting others. The world of the abusers is not a nice one - they are often psychologically or physically abused, insulted and beaten. If a person has enough warmth and support from others and family, he or she creates beautiful, extraordinary things, and gains recognition, not by force but by intelligence. However, those who lack love and confidence resort to bullying.

Another important reason for cyberbullying among students is the development of technology. Donegan (2012) points to the impact of technological developments on bullying. Chat rooms are considered to be the place on the Internet where bullying first started to spread. These virtual rooms enabled young people to communicate with each other on a variety of topics via the Internet.