Well it depends on how young they are actually. Because as far as the precept on right conduct in sexual relations goes, the Buddha goes a little bit into saying that if the person is under the protection of parents or others, there's an implication that if they're young or before the age of consent (I guess society also brings this up), are they old enough to really know what's going on? It is morally wrong to be interfering with them in any way? So having relationships with people that are underage, especially if one is a lot older, could be perceived as trying to manipulate someone who's more easily manipulated. We have to try to remember Compassion in this, to understand that someone who is a lot older has much more capacity to manipulate a younger mind for their selfish benefits. It can be a matter of seeing how big the age difference is, and if the person is in their teenage years, or early twenties, they're very impressionable and can be easily led astray by people who are much more mature in the ways of the world. It's helpful to try to use our age as a way to have more responsibility and more Compassion towards the impressionable ideas of people who are younger.
Having taught a lot of young people, people in their early twenties, I have seen that they're very impressionable, and we have to careful about our ideas of the world. I know I take on a responsibility to be careful with younger people, and my intention for influencing them in certain ways is compassionate. If you want to influence them, it's very important to have a compassionate intention, to try to influence them with unselfish emotions rather than selfish emotions. Because people of that age are very impressionable, very idealistic, and can be swayed by people who have a sense of authority and maturity about them. As I said yesterday, Morality is based in Compassion.
And as far as relationships go, we have to approach another person not just with our selfish intentions but with Compassion as well. Because if we encourage another person we have to take responsibility for encouraging them. If they're on a similar life path then it often works out. I know one of my assistant's mother was married to someone who was about twenty years older than her. It worked out fine, but they got together when they were older, they weren't in their impressionable years.
As far as press goes, they like to be sensational about everything and talk about anything, really, so they usually make a big deal about a lot of things that aren't that important. As far as what I've talked about, being careful as to how you approach another is important.