React Hooks solved a lot of problems but they also introduced new ones

When I first started using hooks, it felt like a huge upgrade. The code was cleaner, more readable, and we finally moved away from the verbosity of class components. Hooks made logic reuse possible in ways that were difficult before. But as I started building more complex apps, I realized that hooks come with their own challenges — and they demand a different level of discipline.

One of the first issues I ran into was putting too much logic directly inside components. It’s tempting to throw useEffect, useState, and maybe a few useRefs into a component and move on. But before long, you end up with a component that’s impossible to read or debug. Hooks make it easier to write spaghetti code if you’re not careful with separation of concerns.

useEffect deserves a paragraph of its own. It’s one of the most powerful and misunderstood hooks. A lot of developers treat it like a lifecycle method from class components, but it’s actually more like a reactive system — it runs when your dependencies change. Misusing it can easily lead to performance issues, unnecessary API calls, or even infinite loops. The hard part is knowing when you really need it, and when there’s a cleaner way to achieve the same result.

Then there’s the topic of custom hooks. They’re one of the best tools React gives you, especially when you notice duplicated logic across components. But writing a clean, well-abstracted custom hook takes real thought. You have to understand your data flow, how React handles state updates, and whether the hook is truly reusable or just a shortcut for one specific use case.

Finally, performance optimization with useCallback and useMemo can be tricky. These hooks sound like easy wins, but they don’t always help. In fact, using them too early or in the wrong way can make things worse. They only provide value if you truly understand how React re-renders and what causes it.

In the end, hooks make you think harder — not just about how your components work, but about why they work. They offer a lot of flexibility, but that flexibility comes with responsibility. I still love hooks, but I’ve learned not to treat them like magic. They’re tools — and like any tool, they need to be used with intention.