Digi-Tech has caused a recent surge in the way our culture consumes media. Media involves the basic characteristic of communication to large audiences. Communication is a vital characteristic which people use everyday. Digi-Tech has allowed for far more possibilities for productivity than traditional methods before. It has given people the power to express themselves via blogs, social media sites, pictures, and other user-friendly programs. Digital technology has come a long way and constantly is being improved everyday. Due to the rising surge in the technology, traditional media producers have changed to accommodate the trend of using digital technology.

One of today's most controversial and consequential issues is whether the global uptake of digital media is causally related to a decline in democracy. Increasing political participation and information consumption are likely to be beneficial for democracy and are often observed in autocracies and emerging democracies. Other associations, such as declining political trust, increasing populism, and growing polarization, are likely to be detrimental to democracy and were more pronounced in established democracies. While the impact of digital media on political systems depends on the specific variable and system in question, several variables show clear directions of associations. The evidence calls for research efforts and vigilance by governments and civil societies to better understand, design and regulate the interplay of digital media and democracy.

Digital media appears to be another double-edged sword. On the one hand, it can empower citizens, as demonstrated in social media movements. On the other hand, it can also be instrumental in inciting destructive behaviors and tendencies such as polarization and populism, as well as fatal events. Relatedly, the way political leaders use or avoid digital media can vary greatly depending on the political context. While some political systems used it to spread numerous lies, most social media platforms were banned in different countries probably to prevent access to information. At the same time, different countries have skillfully used social media. Examples of the dual-use dilemma of digital media abound.

Digital media can foster liberation, democratization, and participation, but can also play an important role in croding democracy. The role of digital media is further complicated because unlike other communication technologies, it enables individuals to easily produce and disseminate content themselves and offers largely friction-less interaction between users. These properties have not only moved the self-centred political behavior of citizens into the spotlight, they have also shifted power to large digital media platforms.

Hence, the three-day 7th National Media Conclave-2023 with the broad theme ‘Digi-Tech, Media and Democracy’ aims to have discourse on the relationship between digital technology, media and democracy by providing evidence-based pictures of this complex constellation.