So cloud based storage is not going away. Not anytime soon at least. So alot of big tech will push that stuff on your phones and such. Especially non flag ship phones like the latest iPhone or Samsung galaxy which are boasting 1-2TB local storage at time of writing(04/05/2024). But not everyone can afford that sort of thing.
So I encourage people to invest in external storage. 5TB of storage of HDD storage is cheaper(think close to 100 USD for most)nowadays as SSDs and NVMe is very common and more pricey. Flash drives are also a good option as well since you can directly attach them to your phone if they have a usb-c connection.
Technology is meant to help people and if you want to avoid the cloud, look into external drives so you'll always have your precious memories, memes and projects ready for whenever your computer faces planned obsolescence as you can always plug it in to the next computer or phone you get.