What is en pointe ballet and are people dependent on it? Are there advantages to being embarrassed like that?

Ballet is ballet. While you didn’t express it correctly, what you are getting at just means dancing ballet in pointe shoes. It is for advanced dancers and is essential in professional ballet for the female dancers.

I don’t get the second part of your question. There is nothing embarrassing about dancing in pointe shoes.

If you are dancing as an adult for fun meeting up once a week or so, or even as a teen student doing just once a week classes then you would never wear point shoes although these classes are really good for you as an exercise, a discipline and a pleasure.

Only dancers doing several classes a week should be 'en pointe' and then it would be at the discretion of the teacher.