In recent years, the practice of watching television with subtitles has exploded across all demographics, especially among younger viewers. A survey conducted in 2023 revealed that approximately 40% of Americans cite “enhanced comprehension” as their primary reason for using subtitles. This trend represents a significant cultural change in the way that audiences are engaging with immersive visual storytelling. It’s more acute than ever in today’s landscape, where digital media consumption is king.
Among younger viewers, the trend is even more so. Eighty percent of people between 18 and 25 years old said that they watch with subtitles on, all or most of the time. Specifically, this demographic is not alone — there are many people like them. In the United Kingdom, a shocking 87% of young Britons can’t live without subtitles. The increase in subtitle use can be traced to a few different causes. Especially since we know that 85% of visual content across social platforms is being viewed on mute.
With these advantages, come worries about the quality and accuracy of the subtitles. What we think is an exciting world increasingly filled with subtitled international content is instead a world filled with poorly subtitled, bad quality translated, error filled content. And with artificial intelligence (AI), adding subtitles is simpler and more efficient than ever. This means that AI can create captions without the need for people to transcribe each word. This has, unfortunately, meant that professional subtitlers have increasingly gotten the axe in favor of automated systems, leading to a drop in quality.
Perhaps counterintuitively, despite subtitles’ increasing popularity among younger generations, fewer than one in four baby boomers say they use them. This gap could be attributed to the idea that boomers often face greater hearing loss than younger audiences.
Although the use of subtitles continues to increase, research indicates that these text supports are not improving literacy abilities among youth. This surprising discovery contradicts decades of thought that subtitles improve literacy skills. Instead, they simply become relatively complex tools better suited for increasing comprehension of visual stories.
Given these trends, it’s no surprise that many viewers report a love-hate relationship with subtitles. Isabel Brooks’ flatmate shared her perspective, stating, “I’ve felt very passive in it,” referring to her experience while watching shows with subtitles. She continued, “I probably don’t want to even say that I look at them all the time. This duality shines a light on how subtitles can negatively impact immersion even when they are functioning perfectly and serving their purpose.
The idea that subtitles can sometimes serve as mini-spoilers further adds to this tension. For many audiences, being forced to read the subtitles in advance can accidentally spoil the action, robbing the tension and emotional weight from a crucial moment.