I think yes, bitcoin is the new era of our currency system because it is the next level of currency and can be used as a currency and also as an investment. Bitcoin is one of the leading currency in the market that is having both volume of users and also volume in money. If bitcoin development will continue then we can easily get our new currency which is bitcoin.
It's true but I'm betting more that like gold and oil, bitcoins can be a reserve especially because people are making it as a lifetime investment then it can be more like a reserve. We have a long way to go but the volume is high, next year btc might be at least 10k US $.
I think we could call it the new money in the internet,
And yes we could buy some stuff using bitcoin if the seller would agree to use bitcoin as a payment method,
There are some shop that is already accepting bitcoin as a payment method.
In my opinion I think btc is more than the money of the internet this time. In some countries you can pay bills using btc and can even booked a flight (Japan airlines ) that only the former fiat money can do. People begin to realize that this digital age needs that digital money and it can be called virtual or digital but virtual or digital that has a material value ( as we can see it can be exchange in different kinds of goods ). And as time passes by this will continue to be more expensive, it's advantage to gold is the hassle free transportation and transaction.