We have to separate both philosphies though.
-People that accept everyday wear and tear and scratches.
-People that want their iPhone to be pristine like if it just came out of the box.
Obviously, the people who can accept scratches and scuffs don't care. To them (and me), screen protectors do ruin the experience because you can always see the outline, the dust that accumulates on the edges of the screen protector and the tiny drop in screen quality--although it still looks good. I notice it especially with the OLED inky black levels look more 'gray' with a screen protector. Without out, they look perfect black. When you back swipe you will always feel the edge, even if it's rounded. When you swipe up you'll always feel the edge too. Without a screen protector you get a perfectly flat surface, no dust, no weird rainbow effect with polarized sunglasses, full screen clarity AND the screen is much less reflective.
To the people that want an absolute mint pristine iPhone, of course screen protectors don't ruin the experience. It's the next best thing next to having no screen protector. Plus you don't get scratches at all and you retain the oleophobic properties. You never experience the actual phone though, it's always behind layers of stuff.