The notion that anyone at any age should be telling everybody else about his sexual orientation is mostly a political, and lately a marketing/commercial matter. An openly gay guy is more likely to vote for a specific party, get engaged in pro-gay equality political agenda. He will be probably buying a specific underwear, drinking specific drinks, and saving up to buy a specific car, to mention the few.
On a personal level, being out is often experienced as a great act of 'liberation'. Yup, you can introduce your current BF as such, or your present hook-up as such, too. However, this is where the personal benefit stops. The notion that you would be more 'popular' among other guys just because you are openly gay is a common fallacy. You may be openly gay all you want. If this other dude does not find you attractive enough, not much will happen anyway. And being openly gay may scare a few interested guys away, simply because they do not wish to be guilty by association or even seen as publicly associating with openly gay men.
For many people who are living their lives on social media sites, telling everybody everything about themselves seems to be a total must. Now, with so many people sharing virtually everything with everybody else, the value of such shared information has decreased very significantly. I doubt that anyone really takes this seriously anymore, especially if it is coming from a 12 year old...
KD
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