Why is Session authentication important in Laravel applications, and what problem does it solve for developers?

Why is Session authentication important in Laravel applications, and what problem does it solve for developers? The key reason to understand session authentication is that Laravel applications are usually composed of several layers that must work together predictably. Web applications commonly keep authenticated browser sessions so the user remains signed in across requests. Ignoring that boundary can lead to duplicated logic, poor security, unnecessary database work, or code that is difficult to test. Why it matters in practice: Authentication identifies the current user and maintains the authenticated state used by protected application workflows. The specific focus here is session authentication: Web applications commonly keep authenticated browser sessions so the user remains signed in across requests. This question is designed to test not only terminology, but also how the concept fits into Laravel's request, application, database, security, or deployment workflow.