Ever seen people respond to a tweet with “ratio”? Have you ever wondered what that means? We will explain what a ratio in social media is and why it matters.
What is meant by “RATIOED”?
Social media uses the term “ratio” to describe the ratio of comments or replies to likes. If a post is “ratioed”, it means it has received more replies than its likes. It’s likely to be divisive, controversial, or unpopular.
All ratios are not created equal. There may be some ratios that have more replies than likes. This indicates that the reception is mixed. In other cases, however, replies may outnumber likes by a large margin. This indicates that the post is not popular.
Recognizing a Ratio
A ratio is a tweet that has significantly more replies than likes or Twitter retweets. This means that both the tweet and user have been ratioed. It is likely because many people disagree with their views. To indicate that they are not being taken seriously, other users may reply to the original tweet with “ratio”, or “ratioed”. To discuss the balance of a tweet, some people may also state that “the ratio was awful”.
The act of being ratioed is also known as “brigading,” or mobilizing people to do something online. Many celebrities will use the comment “ratio”, which is a call for others to respond with negative comments, to their fans.
Uncontradictory Measure
Trolls are people who post posts intended to cause anger and are often ratioed. They are often hated by the public, which leads to the ratio.
Internet fights can also feature ratios. We have previously discussed stan culture, which refers to intense fandom over a celebrity. Stans often try to balance tweets from fans of opposing groups.
Twitter and Ratios
Twitter is the most popular social network site for ratios. This is not surprising, considering the heated nature of Twitter. Ratios are a common sight in the app, thanks to the presence of celebrities, politicians, and their supporters as well as plenty of discussion about controversial and divisive subjects.
Although the exact origin of the term “ratio” is not known, it was most likely invented in 2017. It was sparked by an article in Esquire highlighting the importance of “The Ratio”, a Twitter discussion. The article covered United Airlines’ response to a passenger who was ejected from one of its flights. This tweet currently has more than 52,000 responses and only 6,400 likes.
Ratios have been a part of online culture since then and are well-known on Twitter. In 2020, celebrities are known as “stans”, adopted the phrase. In September 2020, the first Urban Dictionary definition was created.
Other places with ratios
There are ratios on almost every social network site. They include comments, likes, and a counter showing the number of comments and likes. This applies to both traditional social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram, as well as content-sharing sites like TikTok or YouTube. YouTube videos often have ratios in the comments.
Reddit is one example of a place that doesn’t have any ratios. Reddit’s karma system, which has upvotes or downvotes, allows users to express their displeasure without the need to comment. Unpopular posts will be voted down or marked “controversial” (a status in which a post has multiple upvotes and decreases).
How to Avoid Being Ratioed
It can be extremely distressing to be ratioed, especially if it is done on a large scale. It can be overwhelming to receive thousands of notifications from people you don’t know. Sometimes, it can even translate into direct messages towards you.
You don’t have to do that if you aren’t ready. Although there are many divisive opinions posted on the internet, it is not uncommon for people to post offensive or malicious tweets. You won’t get a ratio if you try to offend others.
You can also make your social media accounts private, including your Twitter page. This works too.
