Why I Started Wrapping Everything in React Native?

🚀I’ve been working with React Native for about 4 years now, and one thing I’ve learned the hard way is this:
Nothing stays permanent.

Libraries get deprecated.
Best practices change.
Things that were “recommended” last year suddenly feel wrong today.

At some point, I started asking myself:

Why am I fixing the same problem again and again, just because a library changed?🤔

The Pattern I Kept Seeing

Let’s be honest — React Native apps don’t die quickly.
They live for years.

But during that time:

• FlatList starts struggling with performance

• FlashList shows up and becomes the new standard

• SafeAreaView from react-native is no longer enough

• We move to react-native-safe-area-context

And suddenly you’re touching dozens of files for what is essentially one decision change.

That’s when I realised —
The mistake was never the library choice; it was how tightly my app depended on it.

The Simple Rule I Follow Now

• Never use core or third-party components directly across the app.

• Wrap them once. Own them.

I started creating a top layer of base components.

Example 1: Lists (FlatList → FlashList)

What I stopped doing
Using FlatList directly everywhere:

import { FlatList } from 'react-native';

Because I already know how this story ends.

What I do instead: AppFlatList

// AppFlatList.tsx
import React from 'react';
import { FlatList, FlatListProps } from 'react-native';

export function AppFlatList<T>(props: FlatListProps<T>) {
  return (
    <FlatList
      {...props}
      removeClippedSubviews
      windowSize={5}
      initialNumToRender={10}
    />
  );
}

Usage stays simple:

<AppFlatList
  data={data}
  renderItem={renderItem}
  keyExtractor={(item) => item.id}
/>

Now, when performance becomes an issue (and it will), I don’t panic.

Later… switching to FlashList

// AppFlatList.tsx
import { FlashList, FlashListProps } from '@shopify/flash-list';

export function AppFlatList<T>(props: FlashListProps<T>) {
  return <FlashList {...props} estimatedItemSize={60} />;
}

That’s it.

No screen changes.
No refactor weekends.
No stress.

Example 2: Base Component Deprecation (SafeAreaView)
This one hit me multiple times.

Earlier we all used:

import { SafeAreaView } from 'react-native';

Later, we were told:

“Use react-native-safe-area-context instead.”

Now imagine SafeAreaView used everywhere.

Painful, right?

// AppSafeAreaView.tsx
import React from 'react';
import { SafeAreaView } from 'react-native-safe-area-context';

export function AppSafeAreaView({ children, style }) {
  return (
    <SafeAreaView style={[{ flex: 1 }, style]}>
      {children}
    </SafeAreaView>
  );
}

Usage:

<AppSafeAreaView>
  <HomeScreen />
</AppSafeAreaView>

Now I don’t care:

• if API changes

• if padding logic changes

• if Android/iOS behavior differs later

• I’ve isolated it.

This Slowly Became My Default Style

Now I do this for almost everything:

• AppText → font scaling, typography updates

• AppButton → design system changes

• AppInput → validation, focus handling

• AppImage → caching, placeholders

• AppPressable → analytics hooks later

• Every time I hesitate and think

“Should I just use this directly?”

I remember how many times I’ve regretted that decision.

Why This Matters (Real Talk)
React Native evolves fast.
Your app doesn’t.

So either:

• You chase changes every year
  or

• You design your app to absorb them calmly

Wrapping components doesn’t slow you down.
Refactoring later does.

Final Thought
This isn’t about over-engineering.
It’s about respecting the fact that change is guaranteed.

I don’t wrap components because I expect problems today.
I wrap them because I know future-me will be tired.

And honestly?
Future-me deserves better.