Biography of Oliver Steil. Currently, Oliver Steil holds the position of Chairman-Executive Board & CEO at TeamViewer AG and Chairman-Management Board & CEO for TeamViewer Germany GmbH (a subsidiary of TeamViewer AG). In his past career Mr. Steil held the position of Partner at McKinsey & Co., Inc., Chief Executive Officer at debitel AG, Chief Executive Officer for Sunrise Communications AG and Partner at Permira Advisers LLP.
CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY
All reports will be delivered using the Harvard University case study as per their website
I have read receipts and or digital data flow that connects all of the child abusers together so as to create a new digital currency from the co-dependency that Richard Grannon confirms with the enclosed
EPIC GAMES – SUPERAWESOME -MAYFAIR EQUITY PARTNERS – TEAMVIEWER – LEGO – BT – EE – VODAFONE
Case No.: Number 18.18
“I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him.”
CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY
Before we commence the document, I must make you aware that I am dyslexic and this can lead to what you believe as grammatical errors, however I convey that this accentuates the etymology and semantics of my vocabulary and thus is the ring fence that holds all accountable.
This will be the first time I’ve delivered such a document and I am doing so with no formal legal training / accreditations; however, the TRUTH is very easy entity to deliver within a legal system where the ability to bend the truth is seen as truth and the acceptance of a lie the holds enough truth……………. the barometer of justice.
FROM THE MOUTHS OF BABES
The Children of the World shall be presenting the following arguments, however at this stage The Children would care to remind us all that they are CHILDREN and regardless of any legal counters, we are as a species and the most intelligent life force, AT ALL TIMES directly responsible for their well-being (both physical and mental) and all who follow in our footsteps.
Article 7 Crimes against humanity
1. For the purpose of this Statute, "crime against humanity" means any of the following acts when committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against any civilian population, with knowledge of the attack: Other inhumane acts of a similar character intentionally causing great suffering, or serious injury to body or to mental or physical health.
2. 1 Paragraph 2 of article 5 (“The Court shall exercise jurisdiction over the crime of aggression once a provision is adopted in accordance with articles 121 and 123 defining the crime and setting out the conditions under which the Court shall exercise jurisdiction with respect to this crime. Such a provision shall be consistent with the relevant provisions of the Charter of the United Nations.”) was deleted in accordance with RC/Res.6, annex I, of 11 June 2010. 4 Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court 2. For the purpose of paragraph 1: (a) "Attack directed against any civilian population" means a course of conduct involving the multiple commission of acts referred to in paragraph 1 against any civilian population, pursuant to or in furtherance of a State or organizational policy to commit such attack.
The Children shall be focusing on the following to deliver their conclusive argument.
Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (Excerpt) Done at Rome on 17 July 1998, in force on 1 July 2002, United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 2187, No. 38544, Depositary: Secretary-General of the United Nations, http://treaties.un.org.
Full Text: https://www.icc-cpi.int/resource-library/Documents/RS-Eng.pdf
Article 7 Crimes against humanity
1. For the purpose of this Statute, "crime against humanity" means any of the following acts when committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against any civilian population, with knowledge of the attack:
(a) Murder;
(b) Extermination;
(c) Enslavement;
(d) Deportation or forcible transfer of population;
(e) Imprisonment or other severe deprivation of physical liberty in violation of fundamental rules of international law;
(f) Torture;
(g) Rape, sexual slavery, enforced prostitution, forced pregnancy, enforced sterilization, or any other form of sexual violence of comparable gravity;
(h) Persecution against any identifiable group or collectivity on political, racial, national, ethnic, cultural, religious, gender as defined in paragraph 3, or other grounds that are universally recognized as impermissible under international law, in connection with any act
referred to in this paragraph or any crime within the jurisdiction of the Court;
(i) Enforced disappearance of persons;
(k) Other inhumane acts of a similar character intentionally causing great suffering, or serious injury to body or to mental or physical health.
2. For the purpose of paragraph 1:
(a) "Attack directed against any civilian population" means a course of conduct involving the multiple commission of acts referred to in Article 7, Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court/July 1998, Rome paragraph 1 against any civilian population, pursuant to or in furtherance of a State or organizational policy to commit such attack;
(b) "Extermination" includes the intentional infliction of conditions of life, inter alia the deprivation of access to food and medicine, calculated to bring about the destruction of part of a population;
(c) "Enslavement" means the exercise of any or all of the powers attaching to the right of ownership over a person and includes the exercise of such power in the course of trafficking in persons, in particular women and children;
(d) "Deportation or forcible transfer of population" means forced displacement of the persons concerned by expulsion or other coercive acts from the area in which they are lawfully present, without grounds permitted under international law;
(e) "Torture" means the intentional infliction of severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, upon a person in the custody or under the control of the accused; except that torture shall not include pain or suffering arising only from, inherent in or incidental to, lawful sanctions;
ENSLAVEMENT
NOUN
the action of making someone a slave; subjugation.
“I feel tremendous guilt,” admitted Chamath Palihapitiya, former Vice President of User Growth at Facebook, to an audience of Stanford students. He was responding to a question about his involvement in exploiting consumer behavior. “The short-term, dopamine-driven feedback loops that we have created are destroying how society works,” he explained. In Palihapitiya’s talk, he highlighted something most of us know but few really appreciate: smartphones and the social media platforms they support are turning us into bona fide addicts. While it’s easy to dismiss this claim as hyperbole, platforms like Facebook, Snapchat, and Instagram leverage the very same neural circuitry used by slot machines and cocaine to keep us using their products as much as possible. Taking a closer look at the underlying science may give you pause the next time you feel your pocket buzz.
Never Alone
If you’ve ever misplaced your phone, you may have experienced a mild state of panic until it’s been found. About 73% of people claim to experience this unique flavor of anxiety, which makes sense when you consider that adults in the US spend an average of 2-4 hours per day tapping, typing, and swiping on their devices—that adds up to over 2,600 daily touches. Most of us have become so intimately entwined with our digital lives that we sometimes feel our phones vibrating in our pockets when they aren’t even there.
While there is nothing inherently addictive about smartphones themselves, the true drivers of our attachments to these devices are the hyper-social environments they provide. Thanks to the likes of Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, and others, smartphones allow us to carry immense social environments in our pockets through every waking moment of our lives. Though humans have evolved to be social—a key feature to our success as a species—the social structures in which we thrive tend to contain about 150 individuals. This number is orders of magnitude smaller than the 2 billion potential connections we carry around in our pockets today. There is no doubt that smartphones provide immense benefit to society, but their cost is becoming more and more apparent. Studies are beginning to show links between smartphone usage and increased levels of anxiety and depression, poor sleep quality, and increased risk of car injury or death. Many of us wish we spent less time on our phones but find it incredibly difficult to disconnect. Why are our smartphones so hard to ignore?
The Levers in Our Brains – Dopamine and social reward
Dopamine is a chemical produced by our brains that plays a starring role in motivating behavior. It gets released when we take a bite of delicious food, when we have sex, after we exercise, and, importantly, when we have successful social interactions. In an evolutionary context, it rewards us for beneficial behaviors and motivates us to repeat them.
The human brain contains four major dopamine “pathways,” or connections between different parts of the brain that act as highways for chemical messages called neurotransmitters. Each pathway has its own associated cognitive and motor (movement) processes. Three of these pathways—the mesocortical, mesolimbic, and nigrostriatal pathways—are considered our “reward pathways” and have been shown to be dysfunctional in most cases of addiction. They are responsible for the release of dopamine in various parts of the brain, which shapes the activity of those areas. The fourth, the tuberoinfundibular pathway, regulates the release of a hormone called prolactin that is required for milk production.
Figure 1: Three dopamine pathways and their related cognitive processes. Most of your dopamine is generated deep in the midbrain, and it is released in many different areas across the brain. These areas are largely responsible for behaviors associated with learning, habit formation, and addiction.
While the reward pathways (Figure 1) are distinct in their anatomical organization, all three become active when anticipating or experiencing rewarding events. In particular, they reinforce the association between a particular stimulus or sequence of behaviors and the feel-good reward that follows. Every time a response to a stimulus result in a reward, these associations become stronger through a process called long-term potentiation. This process strengthens frequently used connections between brain cells called neurons by increasing the intensity at which they respond to particular stimuli.
Although not as intense as hit of cocaine, positive social stimuli will similarly result in a release of dopamine, reinforcing whatever behavior preceded it. Cognitive neuroscientists have shown that rewarding social stimuli—laughing faces, positive recognition by our peers, messages from loved ones—activate the same dopaminergic reward pathways. Smartphones have provided us with a virtually unlimited supply of social stimuli, both positive and negative. Every notification, whether it’s a text message, a “like” on Instagram, or a Facebook notification, has the potential to be a positive social stimulus and dopamine influx.
The Hands that Pull – Reward prediction errors and variable reward schedules
Because most social media platforms are free, they rely on revenue from advertisers to make a profit. This system works for everyone involved at first glance, but it has created an arms race for your attention and time. Ultimately, the winners of this arms race will be those who best use their product to exploit the features of the brain’s reward systems.
Reward prediction errors
Research in reward learning and addiction have recently focused on a feature of our dopamine neurons called reward prediction error (RPE) encoding. These prediction errors serve as dopamine-mediated feedback signals in our brains (Figure 2). This neurological feature is something casino owners have used to their advantage for years. If you’ve ever played slots, you’ll have experienced the intense anticipation while those wheels are turning—the moments between the lever pull and the outcome provide time for our dopamine neurons to increase their activity, creating a rewarding feeling just by playing the game. It would be no fun otherwise. But as negative outcomes accumulate, the loss of dopamine activity encourages us to disengage. Thus, a balance between positive and negative outcomes must be maintained in order to keep our brains engaged.
Figure 2: Reward prediction and subsequent dopamine activity. Unexpected rewards increase the activity of dopamine neurons, acting as positive feedback signals for the brain regions associated with the preceding behavior. As learning takes place, the timing of activity will shift until it occurs upon the cue alone, with the expected reward having no additional effect. And should the expected reward not be received, dopamine activity drops, sending a negative feedback signal to the relevant parts of the brain, weakening the positive association.
Variable reward schedules
How do social media apps take advantage of this dopamine-driven learning strategy? Similar to slot machines, many apps implement a reward pattern optimized to keep you engaged as much as possible. Variable reward schedules were introduced by psychologist B.F. Skinner in the 1930’s. In his experiments, he found that mice respond most frequently to reward-associated stimuli when the reward was administered after a varying number of responses, precluding the animal’s ability to predict when they would be rewarded. Humans are no different; if we perceive a reward to be delivered at random, and if checking for the reward comes at little cost, we end up checking habitually (e.g. gambling addiction). If you pay attention, you might find yourself checking your phone at the slightest feeling of boredom, purely out of habit. Programmers work very hard behind the screens to keep you doing exactly that.
The Battle for Your Time
If you’ve been a Facebook user for more than a few years, you’ve probably noticed that the site has been expanding its criteria for notifications. When you first join Facebook, your notification center revolves around the initial set of connections you make, creating that crucial link between notification and social reward. But as you use Facebook more and begin interacting with various groups, events, and artists, that notification center will also become more active. After a while, you’ll be able to open the app at any time and reasonably expect to be rewarded. When paired with the low cost of checking your phone, you have a pretty strong incentive to check in whenever you can.
Other examples highlight a more deliberate effort to monopolize your time. Consider Instagram’s implementation of a variable-ratio reward schedule. As explained in this 60 Minutes interview, Instagram’s notification algorithms will sometimes withhold “likes” on your photos to deliver them in larger bursts. So when you make your post, you may be disappointed to find less responses than you expected, only to receive them in a larger bunch later on. Your dopamine centers have been primed by those initial negative outcomes to respond robustly to the sudden influx of social appraisal. This use of a variable reward schedule takes advantage of our dopamine-driven desire for social validation, and it optimizes the balance of negative and positive feedback signals until we’ve become habitual users.
Question Your Habits
Smartphones and social media apps aren’t going anywhere anytime soon, so it is up to us as the users to decide how much of our time we want to dedicate to them. Unless the advertisement-based profit model changes, companies like Facebook will continue to do everything they can to keep your eyes glued to the screen as often as possible. And by using algorithms to leverage our dopamine-driven reward circuitry, they stack the cards—and our brains—against us. But if you want to spend less time on your phone, there are a variety strategies to achieve success. Doing things like disabling your notifications for social media apps and keeping your display in black and white will reduce your phone’s ability to grab and hold your attention. Above all, mindful use of the technology is the best tool you have. So the next time you pick up your phone to check Facebook, you might ask yourself, “Is this really worth my time?”
Trevor Haynes is a research technician in the Department of Neurobiology at Harvard Medical School.
teamviewer HP Officejet Printer reqiured remote setup to interact with Desktop computer. When called support I was transerred to teamviewer for assistance. $500.00 worth XBOXCards nonrefundable gave Fraud information not used when error occured and would not give refund but requested an additional $1500.00 to fix the problem with not informing prior refused to refund unless paid another $1500.00 cards even though explained I would not be able to spend this kind of money Covid !9 unemployed RIP OFF for not informed prperly of this before I spent $500.00 www.teqmviewer.com, Bejamin 844 457 6899
TeamViewer charged my charge card for a subscription when I verbally spoke with them over the phone On 1/14/2019 and they said it was not a subscription but rather a one year purchase.
Then they did not give me 45 days notice of the renewal prior to charging my card. Now they are refusing to give my money back!
I tried to download the free non-commercial version of Team Viewer. Instead I somehow ordered 2 professional versions for about $500 a piece, no I am not good with computers. I was told I could call and cancel and get the issue rectified. I called and cancelled, and then got another email saying I still owed money. I called again to cancel and this time a month or so later I get a phone call form a really rude lawyer saying I owe over a thousand dollars. When I said I had cancelled I was told I didn't send in anything in WRITING. I spoke with them twice about this. Keep in mind I only needed the free version of the software for a day. The Lawyer then said he was going to talk to team viewer. He called me back today, again as rude as can be, and said they where only gonna charge me for one license. I don't have a license, have not used a license, so I'm sure not going to pay for something I don't have and called twice on to rectify the confusion.
I am a senior told they owed me $250 and becuse I only gave bank name thought I was safe I was told not to turn off computer and I did but lost nothing as far as I can tell.Today they will call again I believe different #
I always have receive junk emails in my mailbox, and I never open any attachment file which I dont know of. Teamviewer was sending me an invoice which I ignoreed becuase I never purchased their product and didnt know this company much. until online a collecting agency contacted me and said I owe a debt and i have to pay or they are going to sue me etc.
I went to check with the email temviewer sent me, it has a link to acticate the lisence and an invoice, which I never click to download or active.
I opened the invoice it said
The license is subject to our end-user license agreement which is available at www.teamviewer.com/eula. Byactivating the license you agree to be bound by its terms.
now how can a company, got a name and email address and sending out random emails with an invoice and caliing they "owe money" and dare to sell you to the debt collecting agency? I can take anybody's name and their email and have teamviewer send you a debt too. there is no validation at all.
even if you didnt active you lisence and never accpet the agreement they will still go after you and sell your information.
this is a joke！！ I have contacted them they confirmed that the lisence was never actived and but they said there is nothing they can do they already sell the case to the debt collecting agency.
I want this invoice voided and for all attempts to receive payment on a subscription I never activated or signed up for to stop. I also want proof that this invoice has been closed.
Teamviewer.com scam about a refund for services because they were moving to the United Kingdom. They were using a majic jack number 319-804-0817 or 319-804-0817.They were using the names peter williams, michael wilson and David Phillips.
The repeated invasion into my computer, by parties unknown, was achieved using a standard marketplace software produced and sold by TeamViewer. Nearly US$30,000 was fraudulently charged to my accounts.
I twice captured data proving their software was used to enter my computer and sent that data to TeamViewer. I personally caught to invaders active using Teamviewer software on two separate occasions.
I requested information and assistance on how to be able to block their software from entering my computer, but I simply got a run around and received no useful assistance to be able to block or limit the functioning of their software in my computer.
Even when I capture their software, version, serial numbers, usage code information and data logs, no useful assistance was provided.
Both English and French versions of their software was used on my computer, so this is no small problem. The fraud invaders accessed multiple credit cards and a personal bank account.
An international company the size of TeamViewer GmbH, also known by Trade Register Ulm HRB 534 075, certainly has faced this issue before, but has chosen to ignore the problem. Otherwise they would be able and willing to provide a solution to block their software when used fraudulently.
TeamViewer GmbH Reviews
Biography of Oliver Steil. Currently, Oliver Steil holds the position of Chairman-Executive Board & CEO at TeamViewer AG and Chairman-Management Board & CEO for TeamViewer Germany GmbH (a subsidiary of TeamViewer AG). In his past career Mr. Steil held the position of Partner at McKinsey & Co., Inc., Chief Executive Officer at debitel AG, Chief Executive Officer for Sunrise Communications AG and Partner at Permira Advisers LLP.
CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY
All reports will be delivered using the Harvard University case study as per their website
https://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2018/dopamine-smartphones-battle-time/
I have read receipts and or digital data flow that connects all of the child abusers together so as to create a new digital currency from the co-dependency that Richard Grannon confirms with the enclosed
https://www.instagram.com/tv/CkEDzGRLdDB/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
For much more detailed information please see
www.gv3tlove.com
Washington post II
For the SCIENCE and for ALL involved and to be revealed as we go
The Children of the World
The Children of the World
The House of the TRUTH
Under the eyes of GOD
[email protected]
Court name – ELIZA the new digital paradigm
PLAINTIFF'S NAME,
THE CHILDREN OF THE WORLD (THE 500MILLION)
vs.
DEFENDANT'S NAME,
TIM SWEENEY
EPIC GAMES – SUPERAWESOME -MAYFAIR EQUITY PARTNERS – TEAMVIEWER – LEGO – BT – EE – VODAFONE
Case No.: Number 18.18
“I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him.”
CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY
Before we commence the document, I must make you aware that I am dyslexic and this can lead to what you believe as grammatical errors, however I convey that this accentuates the etymology and semantics of my vocabulary and thus is the ring fence that holds all accountable.
This will be the first time I’ve delivered such a document and I am doing so with no formal legal training / accreditations; however, the TRUTH is very easy entity to deliver within a legal system where the ability to bend the truth is seen as truth and the acceptance of a lie the holds enough truth……………. the barometer of justice.
FROM THE MOUTHS OF BABES
The Children of the World shall be presenting the following arguments, however at this stage The Children would care to remind us all that they are CHILDREN and regardless of any legal counters, we are as a species and the most intelligent life force, AT ALL TIMES directly responsible for their well-being (both physical and mental) and all who follow in our footsteps.
Article 7 Crimes against humanity
1. For the purpose of this Statute, "crime against humanity" means any of the following acts when committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against any civilian population, with knowledge of the attack: Other inhumane acts of a similar character intentionally causing great suffering, or serious injury to body or to mental or physical health.
2. 1 Paragraph 2 of article 5 (“The Court shall exercise jurisdiction over the crime of aggression once a provision is adopted in accordance with articles 121 and 123 defining the crime and setting out the conditions under which the Court shall exercise jurisdiction with respect to this crime. Such a provision shall be consistent with the relevant provisions of the Charter of the United Nations.”) was deleted in accordance with RC/Res.6, annex I, of 11 June 2010. 4 Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court 2. For the purpose of paragraph 1: (a) "Attack directed against any civilian population" means a course of conduct involving the multiple commission of acts referred to in paragraph 1 against any civilian population, pursuant to or in furtherance of a State or organizational policy to commit such attack.
The Children shall be focusing on the following to deliver their conclusive argument.
Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (Excerpt) Done at Rome on 17 July 1998, in force on 1 July 2002, United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 2187, No. 38544, Depositary: Secretary-General of the United Nations, http://treaties.un.org.
Full Text: https://www.icc-cpi.int/resource-library/Documents/RS-Eng.pdf
Article 7 Crimes against humanity
1. For the purpose of this Statute, "crime against humanity" means any of the following acts when committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against any civilian population, with knowledge of the attack:
(a) Murder;
(b) Extermination;
(c) Enslavement;
(d) Deportation or forcible transfer of population;
(e) Imprisonment or other severe deprivation of physical liberty in violation of fundamental rules of international law;
(f) Torture;
(g) Rape, sexual slavery, enforced prostitution, forced pregnancy, enforced sterilization, or any other form of sexual violence of comparable gravity;
(h) Persecution against any identifiable group or collectivity on political, racial, national, ethnic, cultural, religious, gender as defined in paragraph 3, or other grounds that are universally recognized as impermissible under international law, in connection with any act
referred to in this paragraph or any crime within the jurisdiction of the Court;
(i) Enforced disappearance of persons;
(k) Other inhumane acts of a similar character intentionally causing great suffering, or serious injury to body or to mental or physical health.
2. For the purpose of paragraph 1:
(a) "Attack directed against any civilian population" means a course of conduct involving the multiple commission of acts referred to in Article 7, Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court/July 1998, Rome paragraph 1 against any civilian population, pursuant to or in furtherance of a State or organizational policy to commit such attack;
(b) "Extermination" includes the intentional infliction of conditions of life, inter alia the deprivation of access to food and medicine, calculated to bring about the destruction of part of a population;
(c) "Enslavement" means the exercise of any or all of the powers attaching to the right of ownership over a person and includes the exercise of such power in the course of trafficking in persons, in particular women and children;
(d) "Deportation or forcible transfer of population" means forced displacement of the persons concerned by expulsion or other coercive acts from the area in which they are lawfully present, without grounds permitted under international law;
(e) "Torture" means the intentional infliction of severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, upon a person in the custody or under the control of the accused; except that torture shall not include pain or suffering arising only from, inherent in or incidental to, lawful sanctions;
ENSLAVEMENT
NOUN
the action of making someone a slave; subjugation.
"the enslavement of millions of Africans"
synonyms:
subjugation · disenfranchisement · suppression · tyranny · subjection · oppression · domination · exploitation · persecution · slavery · servitude · bondage · forced labour · bonds · chains · fetters · shackles · restraints · yoke · dulosis · thraldom · thrall · serfdom · vassalage · helotage · helotry · helotism · enthrallment · duress
The Children reference the following – Science / Addiction.
REF - https://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2018/dopamine-smartphones-battle-time/
“I feel tremendous guilt,” admitted Chamath Palihapitiya, former Vice President of User Growth at Facebook, to an audience of Stanford students. He was responding to a question about his involvement in exploiting consumer behavior. “The short-term, dopamine-driven feedback loops that we have created are destroying how society works,” he explained. In Palihapitiya’s talk, he highlighted something most of us know but few really appreciate: smartphones and the social media platforms they support are turning us into bona fide addicts. While it’s easy to dismiss this claim as hyperbole, platforms like Facebook, Snapchat, and Instagram leverage the very same neural circuitry used by slot machines and cocaine to keep us using their products as much as possible. Taking a closer look at the underlying science may give you pause the next time you feel your pocket buzz.
Never Alone
If you’ve ever misplaced your phone, you may have experienced a mild state of panic until it’s been found. About 73% of people claim to experience this unique flavor of anxiety, which makes sense when you consider that adults in the US spend an average of 2-4 hours per day tapping, typing, and swiping on their devices—that adds up to over 2,600 daily touches. Most of us have become so intimately entwined with our digital lives that we sometimes feel our phones vibrating in our pockets when they aren’t even there.
While there is nothing inherently addictive about smartphones themselves, the true drivers of our attachments to these devices are the hyper-social environments they provide. Thanks to the likes of Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, and others, smartphones allow us to carry immense social environments in our pockets through every waking moment of our lives. Though humans have evolved to be social—a key feature to our success as a species—the social structures in which we thrive tend to contain about 150 individuals. This number is orders of magnitude smaller than the 2 billion potential connections we carry around in our pockets today. There is no doubt that smartphones provide immense benefit to society, but their cost is becoming more and more apparent. Studies are beginning to show links between smartphone usage and increased levels of anxiety and depression, poor sleep quality, and increased risk of car injury or death. Many of us wish we spent less time on our phones but find it incredibly difficult to disconnect. Why are our smartphones so hard to ignore?
The Levers in Our Brains – Dopamine and social reward
Dopamine is a chemical produced by our brains that plays a starring role in motivating behavior. It gets released when we take a bite of delicious food, when we have sex, after we exercise, and, importantly, when we have successful social interactions. In an evolutionary context, it rewards us for beneficial behaviors and motivates us to repeat them.
The human brain contains four major dopamine “pathways,” or connections between different parts of the brain that act as highways for chemical messages called neurotransmitters. Each pathway has its own associated cognitive and motor (movement) processes. Three of these pathways—the mesocortical, mesolimbic, and nigrostriatal pathways—are considered our “reward pathways” and have been shown to be dysfunctional in most cases of addiction. They are responsible for the release of dopamine in various parts of the brain, which shapes the activity of those areas. The fourth, the tuberoinfundibular pathway, regulates the release of a hormone called prolactin that is required for milk production.
Figure 1: Three dopamine pathways and their related cognitive processes. Most of your dopamine is generated deep in the midbrain, and it is released in many different areas across the brain. These areas are largely responsible for behaviors associated with learning, habit formation, and addiction.
While the reward pathways (Figure 1) are distinct in their anatomical organization, all three become active when anticipating or experiencing rewarding events. In particular, they reinforce the association between a particular stimulus or sequence of behaviors and the feel-good reward that follows. Every time a response to a stimulus result in a reward, these associations become stronger through a process called long-term potentiation. This process strengthens frequently used connections between brain cells called neurons by increasing the intensity at which they respond to particular stimuli.
Although not as intense as hit of cocaine, positive social stimuli will similarly result in a release of dopamine, reinforcing whatever behavior preceded it. Cognitive neuroscientists have shown that rewarding social stimuli—laughing faces, positive recognition by our peers, messages from loved ones—activate the same dopaminergic reward pathways. Smartphones have provided us with a virtually unlimited supply of social stimuli, both positive and negative. Every notification, whether it’s a text message, a “like” on Instagram, or a Facebook notification, has the potential to be a positive social stimulus and dopamine influx.
The Hands that Pull – Reward prediction errors and variable reward schedules
Because most social media platforms are free, they rely on revenue from advertisers to make a profit. This system works for everyone involved at first glance, but it has created an arms race for your attention and time. Ultimately, the winners of this arms race will be those who best use their product to exploit the features of the brain’s reward systems.
Reward prediction errors
Research in reward learning and addiction have recently focused on a feature of our dopamine neurons called reward prediction error (RPE) encoding. These prediction errors serve as dopamine-mediated feedback signals in our brains (Figure 2). This neurological feature is something casino owners have used to their advantage for years. If you’ve ever played slots, you’ll have experienced the intense anticipation while those wheels are turning—the moments between the lever pull and the outcome provide time for our dopamine neurons to increase their activity, creating a rewarding feeling just by playing the game. It would be no fun otherwise. But as negative outcomes accumulate, the loss of dopamine activity encourages us to disengage. Thus, a balance between positive and negative outcomes must be maintained in order to keep our brains engaged.
Figure 2: Reward prediction and subsequent dopamine activity. Unexpected rewards increase the activity of dopamine neurons, acting as positive feedback signals for the brain regions associated with the preceding behavior. As learning takes place, the timing of activity will shift until it occurs upon the cue alone, with the expected reward having no additional effect. And should the expected reward not be received, dopamine activity drops, sending a negative feedback signal to the relevant parts of the brain, weakening the positive association.
Variable reward schedules
How do social media apps take advantage of this dopamine-driven learning strategy? Similar to slot machines, many apps implement a reward pattern optimized to keep you engaged as much as possible. Variable reward schedules were introduced by psychologist B.F. Skinner in the 1930’s. In his experiments, he found that mice respond most frequently to reward-associated stimuli when the reward was administered after a varying number of responses, precluding the animal’s ability to predict when they would be rewarded. Humans are no different; if we perceive a reward to be delivered at random, and if checking for the reward comes at little cost, we end up checking habitually (e.g. gambling addiction). If you pay attention, you might find yourself checking your phone at the slightest feeling of boredom, purely out of habit. Programmers work very hard behind the screens to keep you doing exactly that.
The Battle for Your Time
If you’ve been a Facebook user for more than a few years, you’ve probably noticed that the site has been expanding its criteria for notifications. When you first join Facebook, your notification center revolves around the initial set of connections you make, creating that crucial link between notification and social reward. But as you use Facebook more and begin interacting with various groups, events, and artists, that notification center will also become more active. After a while, you’ll be able to open the app at any time and reasonably expect to be rewarded. When paired with the low cost of checking your phone, you have a pretty strong incentive to check in whenever you can.
Other examples highlight a more deliberate effort to monopolize your time. Consider Instagram’s implementation of a variable-ratio reward schedule. As explained in this 60 Minutes interview, Instagram’s notification algorithms will sometimes withhold “likes” on your photos to deliver them in larger bursts. So when you make your post, you may be disappointed to find less responses than you expected, only to receive them in a larger bunch later on. Your dopamine centers have been primed by those initial negative outcomes to respond robustly to the sudden influx of social appraisal. This use of a variable reward schedule takes advantage of our dopamine-driven desire for social validation, and it optimizes the balance of negative and positive feedback signals until we’ve become habitual users.
Question Your Habits
Smartphones and social media apps aren’t going anywhere anytime soon, so it is up to us as the users to decide how much of our time we want to dedicate to them. Unless the advertisement-based profit model changes, companies like Facebook will continue to do everything they can to keep your eyes glued to the screen as often as possible. And by using algorithms to leverage our dopamine-driven reward circuitry, they stack the cards—and our brains—against us. But if you want to spend less time on your phone, there are a variety strategies to achieve success. Doing things like disabling your notifications for social media apps and keeping your display in black and white will reduce your phone’s ability to grab and hold your attention. Above all, mindful use of the technology is the best tool you have. So the next time you pick up your phone to check Facebook, you might ask yourself, “Is this really worth my time?”
Trevor Haynes is a research technician in the Department of Neurobiology at Harvard Medical School.
teamviewer HP Officejet Printer reqiured remote setup to interact with Desktop computer. When called support I was transerred to teamviewer for assistance. $500.00 worth XBOXCards nonrefundable gave Fraud information not used when error occured and would not give refund but requested an additional $1500.00 to fix the problem with not informing prior refused to refund unless paid another $1500.00 cards even though explained I would not be able to spend this kind of money Covid !9 unemployed RIP OFF for not informed prperly of this before I spent $500.00 www.teqmviewer.com, Bejamin 844 457 6899
TeamViewer charged my charge card for a subscription when I verbally spoke with them over the phone On 1/14/2019 and they said it was not a subscription but rather a one year purchase.
Then they did not give me 45 days notice of the renewal prior to charging my card. Now they are refusing to give my money back!
I tried to download the free non-commercial version of Team Viewer. Instead I somehow ordered 2 professional versions for about $500 a piece, no I am not good with computers. I was told I could call and cancel and get the issue rectified. I called and cancelled, and then got another email saying I still owed money. I called again to cancel and this time a month or so later I get a phone call form a really rude lawyer saying I owe over a thousand dollars. When I said I had cancelled I was told I didn't send in anything in WRITING. I spoke with them twice about this. Keep in mind I only needed the free version of the software for a day. The Lawyer then said he was going to talk to team viewer. He called me back today, again as rude as can be, and said they where only gonna charge me for one license. I don't have a license, have not used a license, so I'm sure not going to pay for something I don't have and called twice on to rectify the confusion.
I am a senior told they owed me $250 and becuse I only gave bank name thought I was safe I was told not to turn off computer and I did but lost nothing as far as I can tell.Today they will call again I believe different #
I always have receive junk emails in my mailbox, and I never open any attachment file which I dont know of. Teamviewer was sending me an invoice which I ignoreed becuase I never purchased their product and didnt know this company much. until online a collecting agency contacted me and said I owe a debt and i have to pay or they are going to sue me etc.
I went to check with the email temviewer sent me, it has a link to acticate the lisence and an invoice, which I never click to download or active.
I opened the invoice it said
The license is subject to our end-user license agreement which is available at www.teamviewer.com/eula. Byactivating the license you agree to be bound by its terms.
now how can a company, got a name and email address and sending out random emails with an invoice and caliing they "owe money" and dare to sell you to the debt collecting agency? I can take anybody's name and their email and have teamviewer send you a debt too. there is no validation at all.
even if you didnt active you lisence and never accpet the agreement they will still go after you and sell your information.
this is a joke！！ I have contacted them they confirmed that the lisence was never actived and but they said there is nothing they can do they already sell the case to the debt collecting agency.
I want this invoice voided and for all attempts to receive payment on a subscription I never activated or signed up for to stop. I also want proof that this invoice has been closed.
Teamviewer.com scam about a refund for services because they were moving to the United Kingdom. They were using a majic jack number 319-804-0817 or 319-804-0817.They were using the names peter williams, michael wilson and David Phillips.
The repeated invasion into my computer, by parties unknown, was achieved using a standard marketplace software produced and sold by TeamViewer. Nearly US$30,000 was fraudulently charged to my accounts.
I twice captured data proving their software was used to enter my computer and sent that data to TeamViewer. I personally caught to invaders active using Teamviewer software on two separate occasions.
I requested information and assistance on how to be able to block their software from entering my computer, but I simply got a run around and received no useful assistance to be able to block or limit the functioning of their software in my computer.
Even when I capture their software, version, serial numbers, usage code information and data logs, no useful assistance was provided.
Both English and French versions of their software was used on my computer, so this is no small problem. The fraud invaders accessed multiple credit cards and a personal bank account.
An international company the size of TeamViewer GmbH, also known by Trade Register Ulm HRB 534 075, certainly has faced this issue before, but has chosen to ignore the problem. Otherwise they would be able and willing to provide a solution to block their software when used fraudulently.