When it comes to TikTok interactions, few are more feared than the dreaded ratio. To be ratioed is the gravest faux pas of all, a sign that you and your content have been deemed far more controversial (or worse, unlikable) than another user’s.

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If you’re new to TikTok or have never experienced a similar phenomenon on sites like Twitter and Instagram, you may be rather unfamiliar with what a ratio is and why it’s so bad. Read on for more about the TikTok ratio and why it’s every creator’s worst nightmare.

The dreaded ratio

On TikTok, a “ratio” is when a user leaves a reply to a comment that gets a higher amount of likes over the original commenter’s post, usually the original uploader of a video. The quintessential example comes from TikTok creator @acrello’s 1.5 million-watched video, where he reveals that he successfully ratioed TikTok on one of its own videos by over 2000 likes.

“We ratioed them within seconds, it’s just gotten worse and worse,” he said.

Unlike Twitter, where a ratio often correlates with negative replies and quote tweets to the original poster’s tweet, TikTok’s ratios are more focused on comparing comments’ likes against one another. This means TikTok ratios are generally more playful and less intense, as a ratio doesn’t necessarily correlate to the target going viral. For example, a user may set off a ratio against a creator by simply commenting “ratio” in the replies.

Popular (and annoying) creators are high targets for a ratio, and some of the best ratio videos out there demonstrate unsuspecting influencers and companies getting hit.

@bearandmemes

deserved #sourpatch #ratio #fypシ

♬ –

@nightshade650

@Manchester City this you?💀👀⚽️ #football#mancity#ratio#W#fyp#CapCut

♬ –

Some TikTok users go out of their way to ratio other creators. TikTok creator @slushypriv, the self-proclaimed “queen of ratio,” is notorious for popping into popular creators’ comments section and ratioing them in their replies, such as her iconic video where slushy outmatched influencer Bella Poarch.

@slushypriv

#greenscreensticker who should i ratio next?? 🤔🤔 @bellapoarch #bellapoarch #ratio #W

♬ ivory by onezeno chopped n screwed – OneZeno

She even ratioed TikTok multiple times.

If you’re facing a ratio yourself, have no fear. The best way to respond is to take the L and have fun with the moment. Or, failing that, put your phone down for a bit and go do something else.

Unless you’ve been hit by a slushy ratio, that is. In which case, your TikTok may blow up for all the wrong reasons soon.