Tragic Leon Brown’s death will send a chill down the spine of every parent in the country.
A popular schoolboy who loved being among his friends and family, Leon was keen to enjoy every moment of his life.
How cruel that it should be cut short by a deadly online craze that has also claimed the lives of other youngsters just like him.
Children are keen to impress and improve their status among their peers.
They also want to squeeze as much joy out of their formative years as possible. What adult can blame them?
But many can be unaware that pursuing these thrills can have catastrophic consequences.
That’s why digital platforms like TikTok - which has enabled stunts like the so-called blackout challenge to spread - must take greater responsibility.
Online platforms compete with one another to dominate large chunks of our youngsters’ free time.
And although age restrictions are often in place, their imposition is soft and easy for a savvy youngster to flout.
TikTok has attempted to restrict the promotion of the stunt that took Leon’s life.
His brave mum Lauryn is now pleading with parents to warn their children to steer clear because it shouldn’t be taken for granted that they will.
She has also asked fans at Saturday’s Old Firm match at Celtic Park to celebrate Leon’s life. The supporters of both clubs will surely get behind this and help raise awareness of how he died.
Pioneer Gorby
Mikhail Gorbachev was a titan of 20th-century politics.
He brought reform to the secretive Soviet Union that eventually led to it being dismantled and brought an end to the Cold War.
Gorbachev was a lawyer who became an unlikely revolutionary.
His internal reforms allowed more freedom for his citizens and his foreign policies saw him treated like a rockstar when he visited the UK and USA.
Gorbachev - aka Gorby among his adoring supporters in the West - even managed to become friends with US president Ronald Regan who had previously called the Soviet Union “the evil empire”.
Their relationship saw both sides agree to reduce their stockpile of nuclear weapons.
Gorbachev’s charm and progressive outlook made the world a safer place.
Years later, it appears we are back where we started with Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin determined to reignite the imperial policies that had the world on a knife-edge until Gorby helped bring us back from the brink of disaster.
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