Last Thursday, September 7, the Ministry of Equality presented the MeToca application, designed to promote the equitable distribution of domestic tasks and care. Just a week later, the app has a strikingly low rating: 1.4 on Android and 1.7 on iOS, with 1 being the worst possible score and 5 being the best. The application has nearly 2,000 reviews, adding those of the Google and Apple operating systems. It is a very large amount considering the discreet number of downloads it accumulates (more than 10,000 on Android; iOS does not offer data in this regard). This is another example of digital reaction to the call manosphere against egalitarian policies.
The vast majority of reviews are negative. They describe in an ironic tone the benefits of an application that the signatories judge as unnecessary. “The definitive weapon against machismo. Thanks to her, my wife can now walk safer on the streets. Without a doubt, the best tool to combat violence against women,” says one user, who gives it five stars. “A trash [de] app that has cost more than 200,000 euros with public money and is not worth even 1,000 to make. As always, the girl from Same Matter doing things that are worthless and spending money,” another review criticizes in a more direct tone. “The effort of our taxes degraded in this application detritus,” laments another user. The application was developed by the consulting firm Wairbut and cost 211,750 euros, according to Europa Press.
The Forocoches portal, the largest online forum in the Spanish language, has some threads dedicated to the application of Equality. The day before its presentation, a user warned the user community of its existence. “I hope it doesn’t get filled with trolls who leave dislikes and reports,” he predicted. A few days after launching, more threads were opened, such as “The EQUALDAD ‘ME TOCA’ application has arrived that will make your wife change the wheels” or “APP ‘My turn’ is 211,000 euros for the joke…”. One of them, which has been eliminated, was more explicit: “We are going to boycott the METOCA APP of the Ministry of Equality.”
The MeToca application is part of the Co-Responsible Plan of the Ministry of Equality and aims to “propose a reflection to Spanish society on the distribution of tasks and, therefore, the distribution and uses of time”, maintain from the department directed by Irene Huntsman. “When we think about care, we believe that where we need to focus is on the redistribution of time and tasks,” said the minister during the presentation of the app. “From feminism we have learned that collaborating allows us to move forward. MeToca aims precisely that, that through collaboration we can distribute tasks and end inequality in the use of time. It is time that the usual tasks do not fall on the same old ones.”
When you download the app, design vintage, each user who is part of the same “team” or family unit has the option of incorporating the tasks they perform into the history. There are 30 categories, from “picking up and tidying” or “administrative tasks” to “pet walking,” “cleaning” or “emotional care.” Each task can be assigned a weight (or effort) and the hours it took to complete it.
The system processes the data recorded by users and generates weekly, monthly and annual statistics that show the time used in carrying out tasks and “reveals possible existing inequalities” in the family unit.
“What the statistics tell us is that those who have the most free time today in Spain continue to be men, in an overwhelming majority,” said the Secretary of State against Gender Violence, Ángela Rodríguez, during the presentation of the app. Her goal is for MeToca to contribute to changing that reality.
You can follow EL PAÍS Technology in Facebook and Twitter or sign up here to receive our weekly newsletter.
#legion #trolls #boycotts #reviews #MeToca #Equality #app