I suspect your down-voters are thinking "are you sure about that?" Maybe they have smart phones and other gadgets which are highly advanced, but they might be living in a smaller place and less able to afford other things. I'm not even stating this myself, although it might be true... I just haven't researched it. But it's a thought that occurred to me.

In other words, the down-voters are grasping for straws because what the parent said is probably true, but it just doesn't sound right?

Wage income may not have increased much for lower/middle class over the last 30 years, but certainly gross income counting welfare benefits has increased significantly, so perhaps that could have something to do with it.