I think the comparison with PHP is somewhat merited in that they're both practical technology communities with a "get stuff done" attitude. React is also often the entrypoint to programming these days (most bootcamps teach React) in a way that PHP used to be. I see this much more positively than you though. There's a lot of good code written in PHP these days. And it's great that programming is accessible to more people.
React is far better designed, though. Far fewer kludges. I like PHP, but it's not the same.
I think React is more like Kubernetes. Not the simplest way to do things, but standardised, various gotchas designed out, lots of ecosystem, and plenty of people who know how to use it.
