When I was a kid, the Pleiades stood out fairly uniquely in the night sky and were not difficult to find. This was for a couple of reasons. First, they were a tight cluster of relatively bright stars instead of just a constellation pattern, and that seemed to be relatively unique in the northern hemisphere. Second, I was young at the time and using HA Rey's very popular book Find the Constellations. When younger, the eye works better. I recall being able to see and use for recognition individual star colors.
As one ages I believe it's significantly more difficult recognize the stars on a casual basis. Speaking for myself only, I am probably far past the median age of the ancients.