How big is "modern" these days? I have a multiple 22" 1920x1080 screens instead of one huge one, and after making the font as small as is still comfortable at my viewing distance I get 202 visible columns in maximized VS Code. At a still-workable but small enough size that I'll start unconsciously hunching at my desk I can get up to 271. Common laptop screen sizes are even more constrained.

I also like to have one monitor turned to 1080x1920 for text editing and consoles. I'd never try to do a side-by-side diff on it, but it really makes you see just how many GUIs are downright wasteful of horizontal space.