It seems individual. For me mechanical keyboards are way too deep and require too much effort to press. It is possible to lightly touch them but this requires more mental effort imo than just using a chiclet keyboard.
It feels like people use them for the satisfying audio and tactile feedback rather than any genuine improvement in typing speed.
> It is possible to lightly touch them but this requires more mental effort imo than just using a chiclet keyboard.
This is easily remedied by using a very lightweight switch. Many different mechanical switches are available from well under 45gf to actuation force. (Thinkpad and macbook laptop/desktop keyboard range from 60 to 65gf of actuation[1]) You can see a small set of available switches and their force actuation curves here: switches.mx. You should possibly look into getting a switch tester with many types of switches to get the exact feedback force you prefer.
There’s a ton more websites (theremingoat.com) and public github databases for this data.
It feels like people use them for the satisfying audio and tactile feedback rather than any genuine improvement in typing speed.