The Matrix could still sort of work as a period piece, since they explicitly said that the simulation being set in the late 90s was an intentional choice by the machines.
That's a good point. It is a simulation as others mentioned. I was thinking more from the aspect that it's completely unrelatable to gen-z and alpha as they've never used a traditional phone. It's like an 8-track player for millennials.
Gen Z's are well aware of traditional phones. Smartphones were not really that ubiquitous (up until 2010(ish)), and by that time Gen Alphas were already born.