Why or why not we need to practice ear when we learn guitar?

Here is my take on it. If you really practice guitar like you should, you will, in time, be able to identify notes and chords by ear. It's the same way we learned to speak and understand words as a child, we heard them over and over...right?

No different with music, after you play a G chord/note so many times you will recognize it when you hear it. My issue is when people seem to think you are cheating or something if you use tablature to learn the notes to a riff, lead, etc.

So I could spend hours trying to figure out an intricate lead by listening, or I could have used tab and then spent those hours actually playing. Yes, learning stuff by ear can help you train the ear quicker. But I guess my feeling is that I'd rather dedicate my time getting good at playing rather than getting good at listening. Both are important, but if I must prioritize, playing comes first. Too many people take a superior attitude toward this, usually just because they had to learn that way.

It's a different world now, we don't have to walk 5 miles to school uphill both ways in the snow anymore like Granpa did.

Not sure what you're asking, but here's a try for an answer.

Playing/learning "by ear", can work, but it's a real chore. 'Been there, done that, but with a solid base of knowing chords and chord patterns. Tuning "by ear", 'better, as a tuner can easily confuse a beginner, so a good thing to know as a 'backup.

Meantime, your "ear", your sense of what sounds good and in tune, should always get better, no matter your approach. But you don't necessarily set out to practice "ear", you just try to listen to what you practice.