I've come across countless great artisans and small businesses I would have never discovered otherwise, all thanks to social media. I've spent tens of thousands of dollars on products from these small businesses.

I will go so far as to say that millions of small businesses exist because social media provides them with global reach. As an example, if you forge, say, artisan chefs knives made out of meteorite, no one in your town/village/etc likely cares, but there are thousands of people worldwide that will gladly buy from you.

TikTok/Reels is simply the next evolution in information condensation. It's entertaining but also educative. I might not care to spend 20 minutes learning about the intricacies of, say, forging Damascus steel, but I'll gladly watch a couple TikToks on it.