@lydiaschoch I don't know if this helps but two things:
1) In my nearly year and a half on here that things were quiet until I followed about 80-100 people in my timeline + some good hashtags
2) When I look at the back end for "dormant" accounts it is about 20% no matter how many people I follow. This is admittedly unscientific and I am not sure what to make of it but I find it interesting.
Finally, putting people into lists has been a godsend. I actually catch a lot more through lists.