Through an article published in Kantipur on Monday, Achyut Wagle expressed his concern that the social media is ruining the existing mass media and that the future of democracy will be in crisis.

At first glance, this concern is not unnatural, but there is no point in worrying about it. Because social media is a product of the unimaginable technological development of the 21st century. The society is not happy without accepting both the positive and negative effects it brings. So technology is not the problem, the main problem is the trend. Today, not only mass media but also many other traditional professions and businesses have been affected by digital technology. 

Where are the photo studios that have been running for generations now? After the introduction of mobile phones, everyone knows the condition of the landline phones in the house. As far as the question of the print medium being closed, why did the newspapers that were struggling throughout the Panchayat period in Nepal disappear after the multiparty came? Wasn't it a tragedy that the newspaper that was being published playing hand-to-hand with the state power for the restoration of the multi-party democratic system should have flourished even more after the completion of that 'mission'?

Is the new ruler ever interested in that? Today, social media is replacing the earlier media, and another media that will replace social media will surely come and is about to come. It is a natural law that the new replaces the old. If we talk about democracy, it is more important to worry about its present than about its future. What is happening in Nepal and elsewhere in the name of democracy, is it the real democracy? There is no need to feel sad if the mass media cannot protect such a supposed democracy.