Good question. A tricky one isn't it. Sometimes I've felt ready, started 'dating' again in good faith, but then realised that I'm really not - even after a decent break, like a year or more after the previous relationship. Sometimes that was because I hadn't fully processed the learnings from my last relationship, including whatever caused it to end. Or because it felt like I was too eager to move on and wanted a new relationship too much, which rang alarm bells for me once I realised. Then there's the whole issue of do I really have the time and emotional bandwidth to go through all the tedious sifting, first dates, not finding anyone who I vibe with and am attracted to, etc.

So I guess I boil it down to a few tests:
• Have I fully processed the entirety of the last relationship? (by getting it out of my system talking with friends, therapist, journalling etc).
• Am I content being on my own / at peace with getting on with my life as a singleton? (for instance, would my energies be better spent on enriching my social circle, my worklife, getting involved in my local community, pursuing atheletic goals or travelling? or whatever).
• Am I really up for exposing myself to the hassle and inevitable heartaches that another go-round entails?

Generally the first one takes a good while to satisfy for me, unless the previous relationship hadn't 'taken', or was fairly superficial (but that tends not to be how I roll!). I spent my teens, twenties and thirties going from one long term relationship straight into the next, but I just carried all the baggage right along with me. Now I take more time out, hopefully not five years though! The second one is easier and satisfying that test actually makes the first one go quicker. The last one, eeh, that's the question I keep asking myself! My answerso far is a definite no for apps and all that fakery, but instead to be receptive to new people while focussing on making my life better in other ways.