>Reading/hearing/watching anything that's not very good is entirely a choice.
Stimulating, contemporary, convenient. Pick two. It is as much of a choice as home made food over fast food is a choice. But it is not always convenient.
Personally I just cut out the contemporary stuff and there is an abundance of good material. When I find something modern and stimulating, it usually involved a certain amount of luck, a lot of trial and error, or just perseverance scouring wikipedia, magazines, blogs, whatever. Most people don't choose what they're into, it is dictated to them by producers. And there is a widespread fear of b&w / classic definition films, stringed classical instruments and literature.
I think there is some stimulating, contemporary stuff. But I agree it can be difficult to find conveniently. I mostly follow a lot of you-tubers and subreddits that follow this stuff and then use them as a filter for it. But even then it's like something good once a month or two. Though I prefer the contemporary stuff for some reason and can't really give it up, so I am willing to put in that effort.
Stimulating, contemporary, convenient. Pick two. It is as much of a choice as home made food over fast food is a choice. But it is not always convenient.
Personally I just cut out the contemporary stuff and there is an abundance of good material. When I find something modern and stimulating, it usually involved a certain amount of luck, a lot of trial and error, or just perseverance scouring wikipedia, magazines, blogs, whatever. Most people don't choose what they're into, it is dictated to them by producers. And there is a widespread fear of b&w / classic definition films, stringed classical instruments and literature.