Fluorescent lighting was a HUGE symbol of modernization and wealth in the late 80s/90s and I think it has stuck in the collective psyche. It was a real game changer because many people couldn't afford to run more than an incandescent bulb in a room and low wattage one at that. So fluorescent lighting literally changed how people lived. I used to have to sit on the floor under the single sconce light in my grandpa's room to do homework, while dinner was being prepared mostly with lighting from kerosene lamps. When we eventually got fluorescent lights, they literally changed patterns and rhythms of our household.