Jayteeo,
Ipads or your modern choice makes life a lot easier. Planning is muc easier and Navigation is much eaiser and takes up less time giving you more time to be looking out, for contact and simply enjoying why we all like being up there, a birds eye view of breathtaking scenery.
The nav bit tells you precisely where you are and how high and fast with no second guessing, it also shows you clearly what is coming up. It dramatically reduces you looking in cockpit time and reduces your mental energy used etc..
I only passed my PPL in March 2014 and intend to keep current on traditional but there simply is no denying that IPAD's are brilliant Nav aids and allow you to enjoy the flight - having said that, there is no greater satisfaction than arriving on your destination using map & stopwatch.
regards
Tris