you can also use javascript if you want, typescript is commonly used for better code organization and to avoid errors and warnings

I've been using Typescript exclusively this past year after years of vanilla javascript and it can be a little frustrating at first handling type errors but you'll notice right away that it makes reading somebody else's/library code a lot more accessible.

If it feels like overkill I'd suggest using JSdocs to get familiar with typing javascript and slowly transitioning to typescript

I will just give you the straightforward answer...

No, you have the option to choose whether you want JS or TS when running create-next-app.