大象传媒

Damian Barr, author of 'Maggie & Me' spoke to three 16 year olds, Tom, Jasmine and Maddie about growing up and coming out in the internet age.

Tom, who said that he believed for "many years that 'gay' was a curse", praised the internet for helping him "to realise that that's my reality."

Maddie said that talking to people online gave her the "courage" to come out at school.

Jasmine bemoaned the media for "bigging up" the coming out of celebrities, stating "my ideal would be to get to a place where you don't have to come out and explicitly state that you're of one sexuality, it's just read that you could be of anything."

First broadcast on the Today programme 27 December 2014