Simulators and models are common in the appearance that you are flying, but you're missing many sensations, and unaware of these missing cues and forces. Those cues and forces are important in learning to feel what the plane is doing in the air, and how you should react. The problem is that sim use deceives the "pilot" into thinking that they are having the experience - they're not, they're having a different experience, only loosely related to flying a real plane. The other factor is "no consequences". The careless sim pilot can extend the GA's gear or flaps at 250 knots, and nothing serious happens! Perhaps if doing so blew all the covers off the monitor, and shot all the printer paper all around the room, the "pilot" might learn something!
The over use of instruments is a horrible distraction from learning to be a good hands and feet pilot. One of my formative learning aircraft was a non certified Cub like plane, whose tiny instrument panel was equipped with a compass and an altimeter (legal requirements). So, there was no point at looking at (much less fixating on) the instrument panel. Flying schools like to be seen to have "good trainers", so they promote their aircraft being well equipped. They'd be serving the true needs of early PPL students (and some commercial training needs too, by promoting that their aircraft are great for training because they have only the bare minimum equipment!
Models are excellent - for learning how a plane works. They are distracting in learning how to fly one. Again, they deceive the "pilot" into tolerating careless, imprecise flying, and the only likely consequence of mishandling could be a broken model. The "pilot" does not get the sensations of flying, nor learn the forces the pilot feels (which are a part of the aircraft by design, not coincidence).
Just so that the pilots to be reading here understand, the forces designed into the aircraft controls will allow a practiced pilot to maintain control of an aircraft to a safe extent literally eyes closed. I could bring a GA aircraft to 1.1 of the stall speed, and recover by control feel only - no instrument reference, no stall warning needed, and no looking outside. Those skills must be learned, and sims and models cannot help the new pilot.