I have been using LaTeX for more than 25 years, and teaching it for most of that time. Despite it's many shortcomings, and the minor challenges faced by those trying to get started, a great many people every year adopt this method of document preparation and love it.
The argument about whether it is 'better' than using a word-processor is a red herring; it will either appeal to you or it won't. However some people like to think in terms of advantages and disadvantages, strengths and weaknesses, and if you want to find out 'why' then start with one of the links below and do some reading around the subject. There is loads more out there if you really have the time to get in to the argument; an effort which I cannot recommend.
If you just want to get started with LaTeX go here►
LaTeX will quickly appeal to you if you are a programmer, if you have had previous problems with the shortcomings of word-processors, if you are of a very systematic and organised frame of mind, or if you love printed pages as things of beauty. If none of the above describe you, then you are going to struggle to see the point, but if you stick with it you might still be rewarded.
Have a look at the picture below:
Above is a screenshot of a LaTeX document being prepared. On the left, at the top, is an area for typing the instructions that produce the document. On the right is the preview of the document produced by those instructions.
The process of creating the document from the instructions is often called 'compiling' which needs to be done only if you need to check the document preview. Most of the time you can just work on the left in the editor window. There is a third area on the left at the bottom that is reserved for messages. If your compilation fails for any reason the error will be shown in this window (more on this later).
Now have a look at the next picture:
Above You can see how the document on the right is being built from the text instructions on the left. It begins (as always) with the type of document being created (the documentclass). Then we name any non-standard LaTeX packages that are to be used; in this case we are going to insert pictures so we need the graphicx package. Then we have a section heading and some text. Last we have the picture which is inside a figure environment so it can be numbered and captioned.
At first sight all this might seem a bit complicated but after a day or two you will wonder what all the fuss is about!