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Fetching data in React is straightforward, but managing server state is complex. Early React developers struggled with loading states, caching, and persistence, leading to Redux's dominance from 2015-2019 despite its heavy boilerplate. The introduction of React hooks in 2018 enabled a paradigm shift: separating server state (API data) from client state (UI state). React Query (TanStack Query) and SWR emerged in 2019 as async state managers that handle caching, background refetching, and synchronization automatically. This eliminated the need for Redux in most cases, as 90% of global state was just cached server data. Modern best practice is using TanStack Query or SWR for server state while keeping client state local with useState and useContext.