A lot of these followers have been there since the 2017 days or steem way when hive was a twinkle in the milkman's eye.
The thing Is I realized a while ago that was following a whole bunch of people who i didn't need to. I mean why not it doesn't hurt does it?? well that not entirely true.!!
Here is a screen grab of some of the people I am following, by having a big clear out and following a limited amount of people I have been able to hone down the new posts to read into articles I want to see! Its quite the revelation - and I am now able to have more targeted viewing, I have also started muting people who post in foreign languages that I cannot understand as they add no value for me personally.
Morning routine now is go read posts from my friends list, and then later on I go and read posts from the "new" section. This is important to make sure I do not end up only voting amongst a small group of people without reading new posts and views. That could end up somewhat circle jerky! and I am constantly looking for new quality posters to add to my followed accounts.
But doing this has made my POB experience a better and more targeted one. Follow and mute buttons. Both are great when used appropriately for you!