I think it's both an issue if hardware support and being the little guy.
If Linux wants to be bigger it needs to change it's selling point. People have been conditioned to think of free software as bloated ad-fests by their phones. My wife was asking how I liked Linux and I could only describe apps as the early Android app store where everything was free and generally great.
Calling out Windows for privacy issues doesn't have too much sway. Mostly because the damage is done, people have posted on Facebook and agreed to every tracker, what's one more? Calling out Windows for being slower, showing you ads all the time and taking away features might have more traction.
I'm not young and I still will play a game because it's suggested to me. If everyone tells me a particular game/movie/book/restaurant is amazing, I'm going to try it.
Taking the advice of others and trying new things isn't a sign of inexperience.