This may be true for most (non-tech) people, but there's a huge difference for us : we know that you can't refuse cookies and still be able to log in to an app (since cookies are used for session permanence).

The GDPR is very different : it does not prevent offering legit features by itself. So I often happen to leave a site if I'm not satisfied by their GDPR implementation and they try to force tracking on me, I won't sell my privacy that cheap if I'm given the choice. That's something I couldn't do with cookies and I just was accepting their notice blindly.