I think screws are popular for two reasons.
First, most people can't drive a nail anymore. I have carpenters that work for me from time to time that think their hammers are just adjustment tools. Without airtools, they beat the crap out of material, can't get joints to line up, and it in some cases they simply can't get the job done at all. I am now at an age where many younger "carpenters" have never worked solely with hammer and nails all day for any reason. I always make sure we have pneumatic equipment on the job now, and have for years.
Second, with the differences in today's materials screws are an important part of different aspects of construction. They are invaluable in my repairs as I don't vibrate or move things around like I do when driving large nails. Also, when using mdf, crappy plywood, etc., nails simply won't hold. Some mdf is too hard to nail together, and the nails won't hold if you get them in at all.
I still use a lot of nails. I use pneumatic and hand nails, and my stuff doesn't fall apart. Just think how many old houses aren't screwed together , from framing to cabinets and trim, and they are still standing...
I cannot explain that to my idiot neighbor. He spend an untold amount of money and time screwing fence boards onto his new fence. He was out there forever, thinking his fence would last as well as The Pyramids if it was screwed together. He had something like $275 bucks in screws, when he could have borrowed my utility nailer and bought a box of ring shanked galvanized nails for $55 and been through in a day.
It took him four weekends, working both days to attach with screws. I could only surmise he was just doing it for the fun.
Robert