Have you ever had the perception passive investments in general (stocks, real estate funds...) generate a very low profit margin?
It stays around 0,6% monthly profit, what means you need 100,000$ invested in order to generate 600$ bucks a month.
For the average investor who is saving pennies or few hundreds of dollars every month on the best scenario, it will take a long time until he reaches somewhere in this financial world.
Therefore, for those who are starting their financial journey just now, maybe it's more advisable to allocate their funds on non-passive investments, what means they won't have a source of automatic profit, but at least they can pursue superior returns to maximize the potential of their money to generate further monthly income.
Once they manage doing this first step, then passive income investments start looking more attractive.
Stock and real estate are stagnant at the moment and people have even less options for passive income. An active side hustle would be great but is not possible for most.
When you have a low paying full time job, you would not be able to get involved in any active venture to earn from your investment. There always are some people that are dealing on job and working extra hours to get things going but for a normal employee that is dedicated to his job, its impossible.
Compounding small savings might seem small in short term, but it would end up being a huge one if you have the patience. Debentures, bonds, Fixed Deposits are not only less risky options, their strategic use means you would have money when you need it.