Before computer era, one of use case is librarians. They just want to store metadata into the computer for them to easier to search. Without any computer, they also get the job done. But with a computer, it's more productive for them in their job.
So the decrease in effort needed lead to an increase in analysis of the information captured in the system - new uses.
You know this how? Not a single non-tech user would even try?
I would suspect that the quality and accessibility of the implementation has a huge impact on this, far more than the region or domain.