Add nostr to your list of platforms to try. It’s basically mastodon except:

• Your identity is not tied to your instance. So if your instance closes, you don’t lose your followers, DMs, etc
• Your instance can’t block you from following anybody else, same in the other direction
• DMs are encrypted, your instance admin can’t read them

I use nostr and mastodon. IMO Nostr is going to win. It does everything mastodon does but without tying identity to an instance, I think that is really important.