Deterring drop kick & undesirables tourists, genuine tourist have nothing to worry about, as for your dumb bit about, "making sure nobody is enjoying life too much" what are you talking about, seems your blaming Thailand for your own miserable life & down falls like a lot of others do
Done mine a couple of weeks back, as the other guys stated you need to do, tho i didn't have a visa. the tests are a joke but one you easily fail on, lining up the two stick things