Social media is even influencing our travel ideas and spending

On a recent trip to Hanoi, I saw my Gen Z sister constantly scrolling through TikTok to find cafes, museums and thrift stores, including tips on how to visit the "train street" in the city's Old Quarter -- one of two streets in the capital where trains travel along narrow tracks between shops and cafes.

In Bangkok, she walked through the aisles of 7-Eleven stores, picking up items she had seen on TikTok. My sister is not alone. During a trip to Japan, TikTok sent me to Don Quijote, a discount store that sells everything from cheap T-shirts to hundreds of brands of skincare, luggage and hair dryers.