Yes, always. Consider when Pokémon Go came out, which for video game HCI researchers, was revolutionary from a social perspective. To give an idea: people standing on the street corner staring at their phone are now fellow trainers you can talk to.

Colleagues and I started data collection. Submitted a paper and were rejected as another group beat us at a prior conference because they could move just a bit faster. Sucks when a reviewer says "Unoriginal. Already saw this last month."