What is state in React and how is it used?

State objects are the heart of React components. States are the source of data that feeds into the various views, and are encouraged to be kept as simple as possible. Basically, states are the objects and properties which determine components rendering and behavior (the final values that users see on their screen). They are mutable unlike the props and create dynamic and interactive components, and are accessed via this.state() or as variables with the useState hook.