Not sure about this

Kim, Trust me. I understand how social media works. I also know how creating a self owned and hosted site works. I have actually handled this kind of stuff for a living in my past life which is why I question the need of giving a person's identity away to corporations that use you as the product.
Personally I don't have a "need" to be social on the internet. I have an interest in giving a new service a gander at the least to see what they are all about. I have a few things that couldn't hurt to be promoted from time to time, but honestly not a complete necessity. I still prefer the old school real face to face and word of mouth. It has served me well my entire life.
In my opinion people are all to easily swayed to give up all of their privacy to freely become a product for someone or something else. You either produce for yourself or something/someone else.
Easier to use something that is already set up is summarized above.