To be completely fair, moving your laptop around when it's off does damage, too.
Manufacturers know this and it's why they try for stiffer frames, rubberized everything, tougher LCD screens, strain relief on internal cables, and so much more.
When I was a computer tech, we would tell customers that a desktop generally has an expected lifetime of 4-5 years and a laptop 3-4 years. I've gotten well over that with both, but generally it's true.
A laptop will see a bunch of abuse, no matter if you have the most plush carry case in the world. The bumps, jolts, moving the monitor, setting it on a table, picking it up, everything you do to move it damages it in some slight (or not so slight) way. Plugging in cables is much more often in a laptop than a desktop and can cause loose sockets.
Being on top of a desk, in a bag, in a vehicle, or wherever is much more likely to see an accident, too.
This is why I would caution people against buying a laptop. It's more expensive and more prone to damage than a desktop, so do you really need a laptop? If you need the mobility, then yes, you need a laptop. Just be sure you understand and accept the risks first.
Moving it while it's on is just more potential damage than when it's off. Even solid state drives aren't 100% guaranteed against all damage.
Edit:
I've been asked how simply picking up and setting down a laptop can damage a laptop. Well, there's the strain on any plastic pieces as well as the hinges. Depending on how people pick up or set down the laptop, there's torque put on the case and/or mobo. I've seen instances where a laptop quit working simply because it was picked up. I've destroyed my laptop by putting it in my cars passenger seat too hard, and I didn't even drop it very far. (It was the first time I had done anything like that, but it was old enough that any jarring was probably going to break something.)
The reason behind this is because integrated circuits (aka: ICs, or chips) soldered on the board don't stretch and bend at the same rate the fiberglass circuit board does, so eventually you can separate the solder points by these stresses. Heat cycles can do the same thing (ICs and fiberglass expand and contract differently, too), and in fact the heat of running the laptop can weaken the solder joints to make it more likely to happen if you are moving it while it's running. Surface mount electronics are just barely attached to each other at the best of times.
The plastic in the case can eventually break, leading to the stress being picked up going to the mobo or other electronics, instead of the case. The hinges can fail, causing the LCD to fall and crack, or simply wear the wiring/cables going between the screen and mobo, eventually causing a short or a break.
You can find lots of examples of all this usually irreparable* damage by doing a basic Google search. Parts can be replaced, if you can find them, are willing to pay for them, and willing to replace them yourself or pay someone to do it for you. I've seen it happen quite a bit over the several years I was a computer tech, and several times since I became a programmer.
(*) People try to repair circuit board damage by reflowing the solder with an oven, hair dryer, or heat gun to varying success. Usually the repair is temporary, even if it's successful at first.