I agree with the posts above which indicate that present day society is much more accepting of differences in society than at any time before; however I also think that this is an evolving acceptance. It has not been that long since most Americans insisted that a person's sexual orientation was a matter of choice. We now know, of course, that this is not so. As was pointed out above, the biggest influence on the attitudes of children are the attitudes of parents. Parents who make disparaging remarks about others who are not mainstream will lead their children to the same attitude. To answer your question more directly, however, there is no threat or danger to you by people "being gay" publicly, than there is by other people "being straight:' in fact there is probably less danger from the former than the latter.

Too much freedom creates chaos and to put it back in order won't be easy.

I am unsure how same-sex relationships create chaos, but I am interested in the definitions of freedom and order that are implied by this question. "Freedom" seems to be the ability to pursue one's own life without needing the approval of others. "Order" as used in the original question seems to mean forcing people to conform to some definition of normality. Given these choices, I'll take freeom, even if I was risking a little bit of chaos.

I like the analogy of the interracial relationships.  It is likely that one's sexual preferences are as immutable as one's skin color, which suggests that people's "gayness" has no effect whatsoever on teenagers.  I, too, am uncomfortable with public displays of sexual behavior, gay or straight, but people touching one another in public, for example, holding hands or hugging, should not offend anyone, whether the contact is with a person of the opposite sex or the same sex.  Why should we expect gay couples from refraining from affectionate or loving gestures when we accept this in straight couples? 

Most of a teen's socialization about human relationships, I believe, comes from their parents.  They watch them the entire time they grow up.  The effect of other relationships on teen attitudes and understandings is, at best, limited.  If there is any way in which same sex relationships affect teens, it is by making them more tolerant as they are repeatedly exposed to the fact that homosexuality does exist within humanity, and that normal, committed relationships among them exist as well.

First of all, I'm not entirely sure what you mean by "being gay."  I can only assume you mean public displays of affection between two same sex people.  I have to agree that there is a level at which public physical affection is a distraction (dare I say offensive) fromanyone, not just gay couples.  I'm far more offended by teenager PDA than I am when it is two adults.

To answer your original question, however, I think that today's society (at least in America) is the more accepting of non-traditional relationships than we have ever been in history.  In this way, I think that openly gay, or openly bi-racial, or any other non-traditional relationship as portrayed in real life or the media, has helped many teenagers (and others) lose the insecurity that comes from being socially ostracized for one reason or another.

In this way, I have to say that openly gay relationships in our society have had a mostly positive effect on teenagers.

I have to agree with pohnpei. People are only bothered by the things which speak against their own personal ideologies. This can be the result of lack of education, lack of openness, or stereotypical ideas passed on by the family or community. Teenagers who are straight, and live in communities where homosexuality is "openly" accepted, may not have the same issues which teenagers in rather straight-laced communities may have. Teenagers are the "result" of the family and community they grow up in (to an extent). They are influenced by many things. Strong-minded teenagers will tend to not be effected by those around them.

I sort of wonder how gay people creates chaos.  I don't see a problem myself.  I'd worry more about straight people who don't want to get married or who cheat on their spouses or who abandon their kids.  That's a much more real cause of our social problems.

When I was in college, my boss at my first job (not knowing that I was interracial) told me that God hates interracial relationships because they are unnatural.  I imagine she felt that those kinds of things lead to chaos.  I think that the idea that homosexuality leads to social problems is an idea on par with her idea -- I reject both of them.