Or should I only use a VPN to torrent and watch geo-restricted content?
My threat model is to keep as private as possible from the big corporations like Google and Facebook, but I also want to dabble in keeping myself secure on the internet and also be anonymous from my ISP.
I would say generally yes but only if you aren’t using services, that have your known identity (like your bank) or you want to be anonymous. More about here:
So for everything else other than when I log in to my bank or log in to my hospital’s website, etc. I should have it enabled? Does Youtube count as a website that knows my identity? I have my phone number and email which has my name in it put in my google account.