But you don't need javascript frameworks to add a small amount of state changes without page reloads, it's very easy to do without using something like react.

The comparison is between server-side with a bit of js where required, and the proposed 'modern web' where js frameworks attempt to take over the entire experience server and client side so that they can remodel the world in their image.

Most websites simply don't need react and friends, even if they are more app-like than doc-based they still don't need it, and they certainly don't need to be a single page application (the best modern example of throwing out almost everything that is good about the web - urls, links, docs, stateless).