I use masto for myself, not for likes. I use it to get SilentSunday and Mosstodon photos and to goof around with people I meet in the online space.

Sure it’d be nice to see a like or a response to a shit post, but for that you need to be followed by people who share your sensibilities, as there’s no algorithm boosting your stuff into other people’s timelines. Unless you use a relevant hashtag that’s being followed by others.