There are two correlative mistakes that are made when the two sides discuss this issue. The 'demons are no longer active' side says that there is no demonic activity, only superstitions and group fears that get interpreted (mis-labeled) as demonic activity. This is why animistic cultures are more prone to stories of demons.
The other side, the 'demons are very present and very real' side says that demons are so powerful that some days God wins and some days Satan wins. Demons are not figments of the imagination but are very real and very powerful. If we don't pray then the angels can not be energized to hold back the demons. (Read Frank Perretti's books.)
Both sides are right and both sides commit important errors.
Demons are very real, BUT demons are not very powerful. The demons power is actually an illusion created by utilizing a person's or group's superstitions and fears.
A very real but weak demon can leverage a tremendous amount of fear by understanding a person's or group's expectations about demons. Anyone involved in the art of illusion understands this important principle. David Copperfield could go into a majority of world cultures and convince the folks that he is a god or controls the forces of nature. I've heard people in the states say 'he has a demon.' Mr. Copperfield is not demonic but he knows the power of a sleight, a feint, the expectations of the audience.
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An illusion is a distortion of the senses, revealing how the brain normally organizes and interprets sensory stimulation.
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Is a demon smarter than Mr. Copperfield? Yes, very much more and they have lots and lots of experience in illusion, human expectation, leveraging fear, superstition and how a human brain is wired.
Can a demon possess a human today? Based on my experience I would have to say yes, however, the real power still depends on how much fear and superstition the 'host' is controlled by.
I may have used this example before:
First scenario - You are sitting in your well-lighted kitchen having a bowl of cereal. Water is dripping slowly into a pan in the sink, you aren't even aware of it. The weight of the water shifts in the pan and it falls over. You jump and look at the sink and realize immediately what happened. No problem.
Second scenario - Instead of sitting in your well-lit kitchen you moved to the dark den and you are watching a movie of a psycho-killer systematically going through a house killing people. It is an absolutely creepy movie. The pan in the sink is slowly filling with water. You are totally engrossed in the plot when you hear a crash in the kitchen. You are terrified, paralyzed with fear you are ripe for the picking at this point. You are convinced there is a killer or monster loose in the house. You can't breath, you move slowly in the direction of the kitchen or you just call the police.
What changed? A pan filled with water in the sink and fell. Perfectly harmless. What changed was the set up. Every magician knows that the success of a trick is not so much in the technique, but in the set up.
Demons are experts in the set up. In the end though, all they can really do is turn on a toy, or make a noise, even make a woman crawl like a serpent. There is really nothing to fear and in fact, fear is what they need to control you.
Obviously the non-believer in much more pliable and susceptible. A believer cannot be 'possessed', (and that word really should be defined when we use it. Possessed is too strong of a term.) The true danger from a demon is in our own fear and superstition. God's electing Love casts out all fear.
In short the demon is real but weak. The demon is an expert in illusion and understanding of human fear and will leverage it in the most dramatic ways.