How do you actually read and understand programming documentation?

Try treating one section as a series of small questions rather than a page you have to finish. Skim it first to see what the section is about, then read one concept and pause. Close the page and explain that concept in your own words. If you get stuck, reread just the part you couldn't explain.

Then run a small example from the section and change one thing. See whether the result matches what you expected. That gives you something concrete to connect the explanation to before moving on.

Give the reading a job. Make a tiny React project and pick one thing you want it to do. If you need state for that step, read the relevant part of the state documentation, try it, and come back when you have another question.

You don't need to remember every option or edge case on the first pass. Get the main idea working and use the reference pages when you need a specific detail.

Check whether the section assumes something you haven't learned yet. React docs can be much harder if JavaScript fundamentals are still shaky. If a paragraph relies on an unfamiliar language concept, it may be worth pausing React and studying that concept in an introductory course or book first.

Documentation is useful for learning a framework, but a reference page won't necessarily teach the programming fundamentals it assumes.

Not every part of the docs has the same purpose. A getting started guide may be worth reading in order, while an API reference is often more useful when you have a specific question. Focus on core concepts first, then look up the details as you need them.