When working with React, it is recommended to use hooks instead of lifecycle methods. Hooks are functions that allow you to use state and other React features without writing a class. They were introduced in React 16.8 and have become the preferred way of writing React components.

Using hooks can make your code more concise and easier to read. They allow you to reuse stateful logic across multiple components, which can reduce code duplication. Hooks also make it easier to test your components, as you can test the logic in isolation without having to render the component.

For example, instead of using the componentDidMount lifecycle method to fetch data from an API, you can use the useEffect hook. The useEffect hook allows you to perform side effects, such as fetching data, after the component has rendered. Here is an example of how you can use the useEffect hook to fetch data:

import React, { useState, useEffect } from 'react';

function MyComponent() {
  const [data, setData] = useState([]);

  useEffect(() => {
    fetch('https://api.example.com/data')
      .then(response => response.json())
      .then(data => setData(data));
  }, []);

  return (
    <ul>
      {data.map(item => (
        <li key={item.id}>{item.name}</li>
      ))}
    </ul>
  );
}

In the example above, we use the useState hook to define a state variable called data. We then use the useEffect hook to fetch data from an API and update the state variable. Finally, we render the data as a list using the map function.