In 2003, a 15-year-old dropped out of school after some of his classmates found a video of him and posted it on the Internet (Harmon, 2003). Three years earlier, a fourteen-year-old girl hanged herself after receiving threatening phone calls from classmates (CBC News Online, 2005). In the 2005-2007 school year, approximately eight million students reported being victims of bullying at school, and approximately nine thousand reported being victims of cyberbullying. According to Dr. Shaheen Sharif of McGill University, “cyberbullying is being bullied through camera phones, text messages, websites, and online chat rooms” (Sharif & Gouin, 2005 3). Cyberbullying is on the rise as more and more children use computers. In 2005, a study showed that thousands of students of all ages have access to the Internet. Children use the World Wide Web to chat with friends, socialize and meet new people. While children will still be bullied in the real world, research states that thirty percent of students are bullied; most of it happens through the Internet. Cyberbullying is complicated because the school and the police are involved. Unlike the real world, bullying mostly occurs within schools, teachers and principals often take action, but online bullying usually occurs outside school facilities and it is difficult for schools to intervene. Bullies often target people who appear different, homosexual, gifted or disabled. (Sharif and Gouin, 2005 3-4). The Internet can be a perfect tool for harassing others because it gives bullies access to their victims as often as they want. The power of the Internet means that vicious messages can be seen by millions of people around the world. The more people who get involved makes the bullying even worse. Res...... middle of paper ......supplier. Victims should also ask to have their number changed and not give it to people they don't know, but only to family members. Being a victim of cyberbullying can be a scary and painful thing. Whenever you are a victim of cyber bullying, always remember not to give out personal information, especially on the Internet, always tell a trusted person that you are being bullied, and keep track of incidents that occur from start to finish. Remember, don't let anyone scare you, intimidate you that you need to commit suicide. There is always someone out there ready to help you in your situation. Works Cited CBC News Online (March 2005) May 18, 2006 Harmon, A. (May 19, 2003). Fame is no laughing matter for the Star Wars Kid. “New York Times” (latest edition) Section C. p.3Sharif S. & Gouin, R. (2005), “School libraries in Canada”, 2006, vol. 25.Number 4, p.17-22,6pWeb.ebscohost.com