In regard to Gmail, there is nothing to be paranoid about, unless you carry sensitive information in that particular email. I made my Gmail account when Gmail was just an email account and not connected to any of the other Google services many a year ago, hell even before android required it to function. Primarily used it for potential spam accounts/logins, account forms I wasn't sure about or accounts I knew I would delete at some point.
Now 2021, well over 15 years later, that email has been flagged in consumer spam, "research" and copy-pasted by bots in large spam lists so many times no one count any more. Since Gmail has one of the best, well better, spam filters/algorithms out there as far as free email accounts go. And with most of those bot networks have been shutdown by now, I only get somewhere in between 3-6 emails a week in the spam-folder.
Only look into that folder whenever I know I am expecting a particular email, otherwise I let it clear itself out automatically every 30 days.
Have to note, that I use this same account for my Android smartphone as well. Just make sure you have [A] a strong password, 2FA enabled and [C] Important contacts (and recovery codes) backed up properly, and you're Gucci. Though, when in doubt, change password and reset 2FA in absolute worst-case scenario.