It seems like an exaggeration. As a child I have been instructed that a LP/CD/DVD is either is its sleeve or in the player but never anywhere else. My parent's CD collection have either no or very minor scratches, all of them most definitely playable. And they have been listened to, a lot. Some of my friends took almost no care of their CDs (left them without protection in the room/car) and even then it was rare that one wouldn't play.