Personally, I don't care what the "standard" is, when the standard is awful. Qwerty isn't just slightly worse. It's insane. Scientifically, it's about as bad as could possibly be conceived if you set out to create a layout that was as slow and miserable to type on as is physically possible. It's oh-my-gosh-what-the-bloody-hell-were they-thinking bad. The research is there, but once again, most people will never read it.
I realize that due to critical mass, the world is unlikely to ever change, and that's very sad, but fine. I just refuse to use something that's grossly inferior simply because "everyone else" does. What they do is irrelevant. I'll use the best, and watch "everyone else" suffer.
Now, as for why to switch…
Yes, you can attain a higher maximum speed with Dvorak, simply due to physics. Your hands don't move a little more with qwerty. They don't move twice as much, they don't move 4 or 5, or even 10 times as much. Your hands have to move twenty times as much to type in qwerty as they do in Dvorak. That's a 2000% increase in finger strain and muscle stress. That's not opinion, hearsay, or speculation, it's hard fact, and fact that is backed by years of scientific research and concrete evidence.
Obviously, when you can type 70% of the English language without moving off of the home row, your hands are going to be much more comfortable as well, which is where the carpal tunnel and RSI reduction benefits come from.
Not everyone should necessarily switch however.
If you aren't going to touch type, don't waste your time. It isn't worth it. (duh.)
If you don't ever type more than email and website addresses, don't waste your time.
If you work in an environment where you have to constantly use computers that don't allow you to change the input settings, don't waste your time. You can change to settings to Dvorak input in about 10 seconds on most computers. (the keyboard is actually irrelevant, many of us use blank keyboards anyway)
Don't worry about having qwerty on your phone. It's true that the mind can call back qwerty seamlessly when switching to a very different keyboard or operating system. (visual surroundings trigger muscle memory selection)
I can still type qwerty full speed on my iPhone, and almost full speed on other people's computers. It's that environmental shift.
Most people can switch. If you primarily use your own computers, you can easily switch. If you type a lot, you should probably switch. If you can't truly, properly touch type, you should switch. It'll be a great opportunity to learn proper touch typing, and you didn't really know qwerty anyway.
If you're a programmer, you should at least look into alternate layouts. Dvorak is optimized for english. You might also look into Colemak or others if you primarily write C code all day.
The main point is this. Be open minded. Look into all of the layouts that are around, CHOOSE the best for YOU, and go from there. If that's qwerty, so be it. If that's Dvorak or Colemak, great. Just don't be a slave to the decisions of corporations and schools that got stuck on qwerty for financial reasons, not ergonomic ones, or any reason whatsoever that benefits you in any way. Live by choice, not by accident.
By the way, blank keys rock. They encourage you to use whatever layout you want without regard for the hardware, and are great for your touch typing skills.