Viral Video: Australian woman compares dating men in Mumbai with ‘school disco’; netizens react

Foreign tourists in India arrive with their preconceived notions or experiences shared by friends about their stay in the country. Recently, an Australian woman visiting India shared her experiences on how Indian men date and how the dating culture differs from her country.

Australian podcast producer Bree Steele has been travelling across India since 2023 and has been in the news for her views on how living in India differs from Australia.

In a series of videos on her Instagram channel, she explored the “dating scene” in India. She asked her Indian followers how dating works in the country.

“Its very different to Australia. Men there don't know how to flirt and usually just engage in banter, which is just being mean. In India, everyone is so nice to you. But it seems to move very fast here. I was at a party the other day, and this guy was flirting with me, and out of nowhere, he held my hand. That does not happen in Australia,” she said.

She also shared her experience attending a dating event in Mumbai, where she felt like she was at a “school disco.” She said for the first hour or so, the women only spoke to other women, and the men only spoke with one another.

When she returned from the event, Steele shared her thoughts about how dating culture in India appears to be influenced by movies.

“Dating in India feels like everyone based how they act on the films they watch. My understanding is that our generation of Indians are the first in history who can date casually. Up until now, I am sure its only been arranged marriages,” she said in the video.

She contrasted it to dating back in Australia and said the West has had a culture of dating that has been built over generations. “In the West, for my parents and grandparents, dating is in our culture. We are told stories about it, and we learn sex education in school. I feel like that's not happening here, and everyone is basing it off of what they see in films because it's not part of the culture here yet,” she theorised.

Here are few comments on her post:

One wrote: “Welcome to India!! It’s a good time to be here…Navratri, Dussehra, Diwali…You will just love the vibe and India will stay with you forever:) [sic]”

Second one commented, “Just Why?!?? Emotions and feelings is just a game in India [sic].”

“What dating event is thissss? Even I'm in Mumbai. I want to attend onee [sic],” commented the third.