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Most Developers Use React Context for the Wrong Problems
React Context solves the problem of making a value available across a subtree, but it does not automatically solve issues related to ownership, update frequency, state modeling, or performance.
React Context often enters a codebase as a rescue operation.
A value is passed through three components that do not use it. Another feature needs access to the current user. A modal must be opened from somewhere deep inside the page. Developers become tired of forwarding props, create a provider, and immediately feel that the architecture has improved.
The intermediate components become cleaner. Prop lists become shorter. Deep descendants can access what they need using a single custom Hook. The result looks more intentional than passing the same value through several layers.
That visual improvement can hide a more important question: does the value actually belong in Context?
Context solves one specific problem. It allows a component to provide a value to its descendants without passing it through every intermediate level. It does not decide where state should live, how frequently consumers should update, whether different values…
