[smacktoward]

True, but that's really no different than the dynamics around bottled water -- if everyone around you is drinking bottled water, and they all insist it tastes better than tap water, it creates social pressure for you to drink it and say that too, even if you don't believe it. The easiest thing for people to do is always to go along with the crowd.

[sandollars]

Except you can taste silica, which is available in much higher quantities in bottled artesian water than regular tap water.

Ask someone to help you double-blind taste-test FIJI water and your tap water. There is a big difference.