I find that the current state of things is that, indeed, jQuery is often still worth using, but only just, and especially if older browsers have to be supported.
If download size is at all an issue, jQuery is the first thing to go. I have a tiny collection of helper functions that make 'plain js' almost as simple as jQuery in most cases. Almost.
For example, at the very least I'll have a '$' helper function that makes document.querySelector(All) simpler/quicker to use, and I use a helper function for events to make it a bit more like $(<selector>).on().
But considering the fact that I have quite a few projects where the client will upload some huge image for the home slideshow or where there's no time or incentive to do any lazy loading of images, jQuery is often still the pragmatic solution. Especially when other devs need to deal with the project at a later stage.
I can't help but think the obsession with download size of script files in the JavaScript community is a bizarre premature optimization. I'm saving 400 kb by dropping useful library XYZ. Meanwhile, the page is loading 47 different snippets of non-async advertising and tracking code, social media buttons, non-optimized full-size PNG images, auto-playing videos, and more useless resources that dwarf any amount of JavaScript code.
I think that's a bit of a non-sequitur. Many people are focusing on performance in more areas than just dropping "useful" libraries - moving to async ads and tracking (if they have any), optimizing images, using SVG, etc.
Besides, 400k of (blocking) JavaScript can be the difference between the site loading quickly on mobile and the user giving up.
If download size is at all an issue, jQuery is the first thing to go. I have a tiny collection of helper functions that make 'plain js' almost as simple as jQuery in most cases. Almost.
For example, at the very least I'll have a '$' helper function that makes document.querySelector(All) simpler/quicker to use, and I use a helper function for events to make it a bit more like $(<selector>).on().
But considering the fact that I have quite a few projects where the client will upload some huge image for the home slideshow or where there's no time or incentive to do any lazy loading of images, jQuery is often still the pragmatic solution. Especially when other devs need to deal with the project at a later stage.