The Western world has largely gotten rid of pagers, but they're still used in poorer countries typically. I remember working with a guy several years ago who immigrated from Sudan and he always had a pager on him. He said that's just what many people use because they can't afford a smartphone. So they have the classic pager and a regular cellphone. Pagers are even still used in the medical field at times as well.
But this is still terrible to hear. Mankind's ability to take each other out knows no bounds.