The video discusses the useRef hook in React, emphasizing its flexibility and common pitfalls. It uses a simple React app with state for a name and an input to update it. The speaker explains how developers often misuse useRef by attempting to track component renders with useState, which leads to infinite re-renders due to state updates triggering more renders. Instead, useRef is recommended for scenarios like counting renders because it persists values without causing re-renders, helping avoid performance issues and errors in React applications.