Being able to distinguish a digital file as "the original" definitely has value. The issue is that right now, most people use the technology as a speculative asset, instead of using it for other verification purposes.

For the most part, at least currently, an NFT is just a JPEG with a tag on it that's verified by a decentralized network. The big issue is that the image file itself frequently has no value, and therefore no reason to need to be authenticated unless you're selling it within the NFT community.

Ideally, the technology behind NFTs has a lot of practical uses. Online ticketing, streamlining of logistics management, verifying ownership history of various devices or files, etc. These are coming in the future, and you probably won't hear much about them, because it's a rather mundane, yet useful technology.