A beginner will choose what seems private, regardless of whether or not it actually is.

“As seen on TV” does not imply privacy, it just implies a large advertising budget. These are software that market themselves as private (and are sometimes better than nothing at all) but may still be just as bad as software on the tip of the iceberg.

well that section has a few not so effective services, like authy, and imo brave and adblock, to depict what people believe at that point.

Yes, this is the exact reason Telegram was put there. I even see Telegram recommended alongside Signal, despite the privacy risks.

Do I even want to get there

Only you can answer that.

or is that limited to journalists who have entire states trying to unalive them?

Pretty much, but if you want to give up all technology, work for yourself, and fake your death, then more power to you!