I have much the same issues with the follow for follow thing on Medium. I do sometimes take advantage of an FFF in my writers groups on social media and in my writers forum. But, even there, I check every profile before I choose to follow.

On Medium, I check out everyone who follows me and I will follow back those whom I find interesting and/or engaging. Otherwise, I quietly follow writers whose work I appreciate.

Across social media, because I am not fluent in any language but English, I will automatically pass over pages/profiles which are dominated by foreign language posts. And, there are types of content on which I will also take a pass.

My perspective is: My profile is comparable to my home. I get to decide who is allowed to visit on the front porch. And, I choose who will be invited inside to my front room to sit a spell.