There are several reasons to texture a ceiling. First is because it’s cheaper to hide the sloppy work done by cheap labor. Getting a perfectly smooth ceiling of sheet rock and mud is time consuming and labor intensive. It’s the same reason for textured walls.
The other reason is it’s easier to patch a textured surface. Again, smooth is expensive and matching a patch is almost impossible.
Another reason I’ve heard is echo mitigation. The texture scatters sounds and makes the room quieter. These are some of the reasons I’ve been told. YMMV
I've put a hole in a few walls and had to repair them. This is true for indoors. A lot of houses have stucco on the outside here, and honestly, I know it's not ideal, but I like the look.
Better that than overpriced crappy ceiling tiles put up completely wrong (and currently dropping down) by a drunken shit stain of a half human moron the same said moron who built a brick chimney from scratch but left one side of the smokestack open into the rafters of a wood frame house. Whom also built steps with a cement pad landing in the middle only supported on two sides by anything at all. Just a thought, textured ceilings are better than dodging falling tile. I want to beat said moron with a pipe and bury him in the rubble of what I'm stuck trying to repair!
The other reason is it’s easier to patch a textured surface. Again, smooth is expensive and matching a patch is almost impossible.
Another reason I’ve heard is echo mitigation. The texture scatters sounds and makes the room quieter. These are some of the reasons I’ve been told. YMMV