Julie Spira is an American author, online dating expert, media personality, and digital matchmaker who has written about the intersection of love and technology for numerous publications. Her work focuses on online dating, mobile dating, relationships, technology, social media, and netiquette.https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/07/18/mobile-texting-breakups/2522933/ https://nypost.com/2012/10/21/when-cupid-cant-hide/
Early life Spira was raised in Glen Rock, New Jersey and attended Glen Rock High School. She graduated from the Park School of Communications at Ithaca College in Ithaca, New York, where she received a B.S. in Television-Radio.
Career
Broadcasting and technology
While attending Ithaca College, Spira, then known as Julie Evans, became the first female on-air personality and voice-over talent at WAAL-FM in Binghamton, NY. Radio Broadcasting History Radio People by Name
Spira later worked for RKO Radio Networks, the first commercial radio network in the United States to distribute its programming entirely by satellite, as manager of affiliate relations in New York City. After relocating to Los Angeles, she opened RKO’s West Coast affiliate office and was promoted to director of affiliate relations. DIR Planning Own Syndication - Billboard - February 20, 1982
Spira has continued to work in technology throughout her career. As executive vice president of sales for Interpacket NetworksInterPacket Networks Reaches Global Landmark: Delivering Internet Services in 100 Countries Worldwide - Business Wire - May 18, 2000 , she was involved in marketing the company’s high-speed Internet services delivered via satellite to more than 100 countries.
Online dating and digital matchmaking While working as a technology executive and as an early adopter of the Internet, Spira became a charter member of Love@AOL in 1994. She later began coaching singles and writing online dating profiles.
Spira became known in the media as an online dating expert. She is also a certified dating and relationship coach https://matchmakinginstitute.com/science-based-coaching-certification/ through the Matchmaking Institute.
Her dating and relationship advice has appeared on dating platforms including eHarmony https://www.eharmony.com/dating-advice/dating/men-5-simple-ways-to-charm-your-date/, JDate https://www.jdate.com/en/jlife/how-to-date-someone-who-is-in-transition, Match, Plenty of Fishhttps://blog.pof.com/halloween-costumes-rock-dating-life/, and Zooskhttps://about.zoosk.com/en/press-releases/ask-julie-spira/. She has also contributed dating and safety advice to Bumblehttps://bumble.com/the-buzz/first-date-safety. Matchhttps://blog.match.com/post/how-to-have-a-great-first-date has published her work under the byline "Online Dating Expert."
Spira has been interviewed about online and mobile dating, relationships, technology, and dating safety by media outlets including Good Morning America, Today, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Mashable, New York Post, The New York Times, and The Washington Post. Looking for Love Post-Lockdown? Niche Dating Apps Are the Next Big Thing - The Wall Street Journal - Rachel Wolfe - July 31, 2021 Social Distancing Revives Old-Fashioned Romance: Long Talks, Serenades - The Wall Street Journal - Rachel Wolfe - March 29, 2020 The New Way Online Daters Can Weed Out the Duds - The Wall Street Journal - Rachel Wolfe - March 5, 2020 Online and mobile dating face privacy, safety concerns - USA Today - Sharon Jayson - March 27, 2014 New Social Media Love Rules - Joann Pan - July 9, 2012 - MashableSearching for love on Instagram clicks with many singles - Annie Daly - New York Post - April 13, 2014 The Tinder Pool Isn’t Completely Shallow - Brooke Lea Foster - The New York Times - March 26, 2016
Spira appeared on NPR's All Things Considered as a mobile dating expert in a report about the development of computer and mobile dating.https://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2012/08/20/159365445/smartphone-apps-help-more-singles-find-the-boy-or-girl-next-door Her Mobile Dating BootCamp was featured by The Washington Post in coverage of the growth of mobile dating appsMobile dating apps grow in popularity - Amrita Jayakumar - The Washington Post - August 18, 2012 , and The New York Times interviewed her about Tinder and mobile dating.
In 2015, Spira appeared as an online dating coach in the Vice Media documentary The Mobile Love Industry.
In 2021, she appeared on Good Morning America https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/living/story/tinder-announces-background-check-feature-launching-year-76526752 to discuss Tinder’s introduction of background checks and was interviewed by Todayhttps://www.today.com/tmrw/more-older-women-are-dating-younger-men-survey-says-here-t231858 about dating trends involving older women and younger men.
Spira also uses the professional title “Digital Matchmaker,” which is a registered U.S. trademark owned by Cyber-Dating Expert, LLC.https://tmsearch.uspto.gov/search/search-results/86118713 She has been identified as the “Digital Matchmaker” by NBC Palm Springs in coverage of holiday dating trends.https://www.nbcpalmsprings.com/local-and-community/2025/11/28/holiday-dating-tips-local-digital-matchmaker-shares-how-singles-can-find-love
Spira’s book The Perils of Cyber-Dating: Confessions of a Hopeful Romantic Looking for Love Online was published by Morgan James Publishing in 2009. The memoir recounts her experiences with online dating and includes dating advice for singles.
The Santa Monica Daily Press described the book as “a must for this generation of singles” who were cyber-dating https://www.smdp.com/the-perils-of-cyber-dating/ , and dating site JDate listed Spira’s book as one of “5 Must Reads for Women.”
In 2016, The Perils of Cyber-Dating[https://www.prweb.com/releases/happy_ending_added_to_online_dating_expert_julie_spira_s_best_seller/prweb13191872.htm was re-released in a revised and updated edition that included new dating advice and a new epilogue. A revised audiobook edition narrated by Spira was also released in 2016.
Social media and netiquette
Spira has written and spoken about social-media behavior, digital communication, and netiquette. Her Rules of Netiquette project focused on etiquette and interpersonal behavior on social media and other digital platforms.
Woman’s Day cited Spira's advice on social-media etiquetteihttps://www.womansday.com/relationships/family-friends/tips/a6425/facebook-friends-wont-tell-you/, and Hallmark Channel’s Home & Family featured her in a segment devoted to netiquette and managing a digital footprinthttps://www.hallmarkchannel.com/home-and-family/today-on-home-family-joanna-cassidy.
In 2012, Spira wrote about 'Social Media Anxiety Disorder' in a HuffPost article titled 'Do You Suffer from Social Media Anxiety Disorder?' in which she identified five signs of SMAD.https://www.huffpost.com/entry/social-media-anxiety_b_2451439 Digital Trends later credited her with coining the term.https://www.digitaltrends.com/social-media/can-too-much-social-media-exposure-cause-stress-in-women/ Digital Trends later credited her with coining the term.Social Media Anxiety Disorder
Politics and dating
Spira developed Love in the Age of Trump: How Politics Is Polarizing Relationships, a project examining the effect of political polarization on dating and relationships.
Spira has been interviewed about politics and dating by The Hillhttps://thehill.com/hilltv/rising/429564-julie-spira-discusses-new-book-about-the-politicization-of-dating/, The New York Timeshttps://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/17/us/politics/dating-trump.html, and Elite Dailyhttps://www.elitedaily.com/p/can-people-with-different-political-views-make-a-relationship-work-heres-experts-take-12612991.
DatingNews reported in 2018 that Spira had spent nearly two years examining how political views affected dating and was working on Love in the Age of Trump. The publication reported that she interviewed more than 100 singles and couples about the role politics played in their relationships. https://www.datingnews.com/daters-pulse/julie-spira-researches-how-trump-presidency-impacted-dating/
Recent media
In October 2025, Spira was interviewed by NBC Los Angeles about dating-app safety following reports of alleged burglaries involving people met through dating apps.https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/adva-lavie-dating-app-elderly-men-burglary-lasd/3789391/
In November 2025, she appeared on NBC Palm Springs to discuss holiday dating, cuffing season, and online dating strategies.https://www.nbcpalmsprings.com/local-and-community/2025/11/28/holiday-dating-tips-local-digital-matchmaker-shares-how-singles-can-find-love
In February 2026, Spira appeared on ABC News Live to discuss the use of dating apps for professional networking and career connectionshttps://abcnews.com/video/130152985/.
Artificial intelligence and dating
In 2026, Spira began publishing an ongoing series titled ' Dating in an AI World, examining artificial intelligence in dating, matchmaking, messaging, safety, and relationships.https://cyberdatingexpert.com/dating-in-an-ai-world/ Spira was also interviewed by KESQ about the increasing use of artificial intelligence in dating appshttps://kesq.com/news/cv-questions-answered/2026/02/13/dating-apps-jumping-on-the-ai-trend/, including AI matchmaking, profile assistance, and messaging tools.
Community leadership
Spira has been involved in civic and philanthropic organizations in Southern California. She previously served on the board of directors of the Costume Council of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and on the board of Jewish Big Brothers Big Sisters of Los Angeles.https://jewishjournal.com/culture/236668/julie-spira-business-love/ She currently serves as Membership Chair of the McCallum Theatre https://www.mccallumtheatre.org/giving-overview/the-muses/officers-2024-2025/ Muses & Patroness Circle and as a member of the Leadership Coachella Valley Alumni Council.https://leadershipcv.org/alumni-council/
Publications The Perils of Cyber-Dating: Confessions of a Hopeful Romantic Looking for Love Online (2009; revised edition 2016)
Awards In 2010, Spira received the Wonderful Outstanding Woman or WOW award from the Jewish Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Los Angeles, for her philanthropic work in the Los Angeles community.“Big Brothers, Big Sisters Dream Dream Big” - Beverly Hills Courier, Oct. 15, 2010
In 2017, Spira was awarded "Best Dating Coach of the Year" at the iDate Awards.
References
External links Cyber-Dating Expert Rules of Netiquette Love in the Age of Trump Julie Spira Official Website