The question is whether they should be foregoing those abstractions and complications.

C is not a language known for high security or reliability, nor is it known for being fast or easy to develop in, so by my guess based on vague anecdotal evidence, it seems that defaulting to the highest level of abstraction unless forced to do otherwise by some specific requirement is a better plan.

C and direct C replacements advertise simplicity, but if the simplicity doesn't buy you any reliability in practice, why bother with it?