To be very honest, it really depends on an individual content creator. Some do it for click bombing protection, some for gaming rights, some for increased channel engagement and sponsorship and so forth. Personally, I have not signed with a network yet, but have been approached by a few, because for me, I will only sign with a network if its a win win for me earning wise. However, that is only from a personal perspective because I don't do gaming,vlogs and so forth. All in all, you will have to determine why you want to join a network and from there work out whether or not it would benefit you. But for the most part, I would stay independent looking at your stats and build up a fan base and viewership. Once you have that, you can revisit this partnership idea again. Always do videos because you simply love making videos that is a must have to have a successful channel.