Cowardly cyberbullies pushed a vulnerable teenage schoolgirl to the brink of suicide.

But now brave Sierra Brangman will talk about her experiences at a major conference designed to highlight safe online behaviour.

Sierra, now 17 and a Berkeley Institute pupil, was in middle school when bullies started to make her life a misery and pushed her to try to take her own life when she was 14.

Sierra hopes her presentation will deliver messages to those behind cyberbullying — as well as those who might find themselves on the receiving end and encourage them to “get help and know that it gets better”.

Sierra will also discuss how students must “own” their social media, rather than let it dominate their lives.

Sierra said: “It’s about not being obsessed with how many ‘likes’ you get. Not living for your phone.”

She said that people often “belittle” the damage that cyber-bullying can do.

Sierra added: “Because it happens online, it seems like it’s so avoidable.

“But in today’s society, it’s not as avoidable as people think. It’s not as easy as just turning off a device.

“The solution isn’t to turn away from it, but rather to learn how to use it correctly.”

Sierra said she was bombarded with hateful messages on social media sites such as Facebook and Ask.fm.

She added: “Some of them were stuff like ‘kill yourself’, or ‘you’re fat’, or ‘you’re ugly’. Things like that.”

Most of the comments were anonymous but they contributed to self-harming behaviour, including bulimia.

Sierra said that she was unable to deal with emotional problems created in part by the online abuse.

She explained: “I didn’t really deal with it for a while until I attempted suicide.”

But she was saved when her foster mother came home and discovered her during the attempt.

Sierra said it was also important to talk about the problem.

She said anyone bullied online should report it to a school counsellor, a teacher or a parent.

She explained: “Even if people don’t want to admit it affects them, it definitely does play a role in how you see yourself.”

Sierra said that anyone who saw a friend dealing with cyberbullying should not keep silent.

She explained: “Don’t be bystander.

“If you see someone leave a negative comment, eliminate that by leaving two positive comments.

“It’s all about trying to make a change.”

Sierra will speak as part of the 2018 Digital Citizenship Conference on Monday.

The event for middle and high school students was designed to encourage safe online behaviour and will include workshops and panel discussions led by students as well as experts.

Topics will include cyberbullying, social media and parental awareness.

The conference will be held at CedarBridge Academy’s Ruth Seaton James Auditorium for the Performing Arts in Devonshire.

The event, organised by the Department of ICT Policy and Innovations Cybertips Initiative, starts at 8.30am.

• For more information, contact 294-2774 or e-mail ictpolicy@gov.bm. Free tickets are available at ptix.bm/cybertips.