Opinion

The Silent Danger Lurking in Digital Pagers

Weaponized communication devices could lead to widespread chaos and destabilization

🌬️Mitch
Open Microphone
Published in
4 min readSep 19, 2024

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A fake digital pager with a cracked screen and broken keys. It looks like it has been smashed on the ground.
Image created in Starry Ai with prompts by the author.

Batteries on Fire

Many years ago, I purchased a backup Lithium battery to lug around to keep my phone charged. I was younger and felt I needed to be constantly online. My iPhone 5 at the time needed to be charged twice daily.

The backup battery worked well until one day it didn’t. I noticed the frame swelling and the innards of the thing pillowing out and pressing the case apart from the inside.

As I watched — though it was not plugged in, the damn thing caught fire. There was a bright white spark, then flames and fumes.

I held my breath (not wanting to breathe that sh*t), and kicked the thing downstairs. Half way down, there was a loud snapping sound and a cloud of smoke belched up into the air as pieces of the battery rained down.

It was terrifying. If I was holding the damn thing, I’d have lost a hand.

Exploding devices

It didn’t surprise me then, to learn that mobile devices were exploding across Lebanon. I’ve seen first hand how dangerous batteries can be. It was only when I followed up the…

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🌬️Mitch
Open Microphone

Just the guy next door, glad to meet you. Pull up a chair let's stir the pot together. Reach me at: lacks@mail.com.