Why is it so creepy to verify my SW account?

When I made my account years back I was an EP refugee like many others, coming over to SW to test the waters. Back then I didn't find myself impressed with SW and so I didn't hang around for long. I recently came back to give this site a second chance but I find the method of verifying my account is pretty creepy... I mean holding up a piece of paper with my name and date on it and taking a picture makes me feel like a hostage to some terrorist organization who is being ransomed. Not even sites like facebook ask for stuff like this.

How many people out there on SW actually did this? And is there any benefit to verifying your account?