Way back in the 90s (I was probably a sophomore in high school), I got my first pager. They were state of the art and a serious status symbol. We had cell phones, but they were usually mounted permanently in a car or carried in a bag (they were certainly not pocket sized).
You page someone with a number, obviously, but you could also send “pager codes”: one way messages that didn’t require a reply. For example “143 3820” meant “I love you” from my parents. Putting “911” before a number meant you needed to call someone back ASAP.
That year (and I don’t remember which one), someone gave me this ornament for our Christmas tree. The year may be on the box (Mom was good about that). The ornament beeps and flashes when you push the button.
I don’t think we imagined that cell phones would be as portable and ubiquitous as they are now. We were just incredibly pleased we could find some way to communicate “instantly”.
When I got to college, sometime probably in 1998, I got an alphanumeric pager. Using special software (or a special email address), someone could send me an actual text-type message. That was considered a great leap forward!