If you're new here and having trouble building connections, I suggest:
1) look at the feed for your instance and follow anyone who looks interesting!
2) follow a few hashtags to find people who are interesting to you. Following #intro and #introduction helps with this!
3) make your own #introduction post
4) remember that platforms like Instagram and Facebook build your connections by being creepy and harvesting your data. Things take longer on here for good reason!