I agree with your critique of both the algorithms today and the often relatively low-effort, unoriginal, self-interested, and self-absorbed people that tend to rise to the top of these systems. (While still acknowledging there is a lot of great content as well)
I try my best not to let the Algos shape/direct my viewing.
With respect to YouTube, I:
Disable the ‘front page’ and ‘trending’ category.
Disable ‘auto play’
find content in two ways: directly from a list of the channels I subscribe to, or by deliberately searching for something.
It’s certainly not a perfect approach, but it does a lot to focus my attention on things I actually care about and minimize the effect the algorithm has on what I see or view.