Apostrophes are important.

No, they ain't. They're a sugar coating. Nice, but hardly necessary or important.

Wouldnt it be terrible without em?

The use of apostrophes is, in the main, a late 17th or early 18 century phenomenon. Like many usage choices, which some dream cannot be done without, the language managed quite well without. As Mr ThePook jocularly shows, most spelling and usage infelicities have little to do with the intended message getting through. In fact, I've always maintained that if you can correct a sentence, it's not in real need of emendation. That's why we can understand Shakespeare and Chaucer in spite of the chaotic spelling and lack of punctuation.

Ceci n'est pas un seing.