This.

I thought guitar for about 5 years. How do you tell a 10 year old kid, who is eager to play the songs of their hereos, that the music they listen to is shit? I've learned that if the music is good to you, then it's good music. Who am I to judge the substance of the content for the affect it has on the individual?

It's not the context of pop music that is shit, it's the intent of monetization that sucks. Most writing in pop music is quite geneius, which is why it sells in the first place. It's the formulaic design and force feeding that makes it shit. The product becomes less and less about actual music.

In the end, we love what we know, that's why we love it. Pop music is designed to get in your head and quickly as possible. Dispose, rinse, repeat.