Survey: Why America is obsessed with subtitles

You might think of subtitles as an accessibility tool that transcribes or translates dialogue and sounds, but this tool has gone mainstream. Recent data has shown that younger generations overwhelmingly prefer to watch content with subtitles on. 

From the rise of streaming services to an increase of screens in the home, we wanted to explore the reasons behind the obsession with subtitles in the United States and how it relates to how we consume content today. To find out, we surveyed 1,200 Americans on their use of the feature. 

As a language learning platform offering private English lessons and online Spanish courses, we at Preply can confirm that subtitles are one of the effective methods to understand different accents or learn another language in a fun way.

Dr Melissa Baese Berk, Professor of Linguistics at the University of Chicago and Preply Language expert commented, “having subtitles on the screen can help a watcher better understand the content. When language learners have both audio and written information it can help them better understand the audio information in the future. Especially if someone is using headphones that don’t have a great audio quality, subtitles can help reinforce the auditory information. This is especially true for language learners or for anyone who has difficulty understanding the speech they are listening to.”

Read on to learn more about why America is obsessed with subtitles, whether it’s for learning purposes or something else.

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Key findings

• 50% of Americans watch content with subtitles most of the time.
• 55% say it is harder to hear dialogue in shows and movies than it used to be.
• 62% of Americans use subtitles more on streaming services than regular TV.
• 57% watch content in public; 74% of Gen Z do so.

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How many Americans regularly use subtitles

At least 89% of respondents indicated that they’ve used subtitles in the past. When it comes to more frequent users, though, we found some compelling distinctions among age groups.  

While 50% of respondents indicated that they watch TV with subtitles most of the time, members of Gen Z were much more likely to be frequent users (70%). Millennials are also more likely to use the feature than the average respondent, at 53%. Older respondents, such as Gen X and Baby Boomers, were actually the groups least likely to be frequent subtitles users. 

When asked what their main reason is for using subtitles:

• Nearly 3 in 4 respondents claimed muddled audio from their content. 
• 61% use them when accents are difficult to understand.
• 29% prefer to watch their content at home quietly, leaving subtitles on so as not to disturb roommates or family. 
• 27% of Americans rely on subtitles to keep them focused on what they are watching while juggling the distractions of multiple screens, children, pets, work, the news, and more. 
• Nearly 1 in 5 regularly use subtitles to learn Spanish or learn English online.

With the overall preference for using subtitles growing, some Americans think they should be used by default, instead of having to opt in. Of our respondents, 32% think subtitles should be the default on streaming services and cable TVs, while 26% think they should be the default at movie theaters. 

Why Americans are using subtitles more often

We’ve noticed a recent phenomenon of film and TV releases such as “The Batman” and “Euphoria” utilizing visuals so dark that viewers can barely tell what’s happening. Whether this is due to changing director taste or the limits of home entertainment systems, we wanted to know whether or not it had anything to do with the frequency of subtitles use in American homes. 

Our results confirmed that 53% of Americans are using subtitles more often than they used to, and audio mixing issues seem to be at least part of the reason why. A whopping 78% have difficulty hearing dialogue due to loud background music in films and TV shows, leading 55% of respondents to agree that it is harder to hear dialogue on screen than it used to be.

When it comes to productions being overall not as well lit, 44% of Americans agree that recent productions are using darker visuals than past ones. Not only that, but 35% agree that actors and TV personalities are talking faster than they used to. 

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How Americans use subtitles on mobile devices

One of the privileges of having a smartphone is the ability to be entertained anywhere you go. When it comes to watching online content (such as YouTube videos and TikToks), 41% of Americans prefer to use subtitles. According to our survey, folks are often watching this content in public places. 

Well over half of respondents (57%) claimed that they watch shows, movies or online video content in public. Watching content in public is particularly popular with Gen Z, with 74% of the generation indicating that they have done so.

Capabilities of technology allow you to catch up on your latest TV show obsession, whether you watch during commutes, downtime at work or even walks.  Dr Melissa also notes “Subtitles can also be helpful if a person is multitasking – if a person misses something in the audio, it is often still on the screen for them to read.”  In fact, 43% of respondents admitted to watching content on public transit, 42% do so at work and 37% confirmed they even watch videos while walking or driving somewhere. 

The hardest-to-understand accents, TV shows and celebrities

With so much content to consume, inevitably some ends up confusing us. Some Americans have a hard time understanding incredible actors even though they speak English, and subtitles allow everyone to enjoy their performances all the same. Below we list the actors and TV shows our respondents have a difficult time understanding, in order of those mentioned most to least.

Peaky Blinders, Derry Girls and Game of Thrones top the list of TV shows where respondents reported having a hard time understanding the dialogue. For celebrities (mostly actors), Americans have the most difficult time understanding Tom Hardy, Sofia Vergara and Arnold Schwarzenegger, to name a few. 

In fact, 57% of Americans have used subtitles to better understand actors with an accent, ranking the accents Americans have the hardest time understanding as the following: 

How Americans use subtitles to better understand foreign languages

We also asked our respondents about their preferences when it comes to consuming foreign language films and shows. 74% indicated that they prefer to use subtitles when watching a show that isn’t in their native tongue, such as the popular Squid Game. 26% prefer English-language dubbing when watching a foreign-language movie or show. 

Additionally, while consuming media in the language you want to learn is a great way to immerse yourself, only 26% of Americans have used subtitles to learn a new language. If you’re up for the challenge, try a foreign language film with English subtitles, and see if you can start to understand some phrases. 

Do subtitles distract us or help hold our attention? 

Finally, we wanted to know: In an increasingly screen-dominated world, is it more likely that subtitles distract us from the content we’re watching or make it easier for us to focus on it? For one thing, the popularity of streaming services seems to encourage the use of subtitles, as 62% of Americans use subtitles more on streaming services than on regular TV. Respondents ranked the subtitles feature on 1) Netflix, 2) Amazon Prime and 3) Hulu as the best in streaming.

For viewers, using subtitles has clear pros and cons. Being able to follow along with the dialogue visually helps them understand the plot (74%), hold their attention on the screen (68%), and not rewind as frequently after missing things said (55%), which overall enhances the viewing experience.

However, subtitles also come with some cons. Splitting their attention from the visuals of the content makes 40% of viewers worried that they’re missing things. In fact, over 1 in 5 Americans find subtitles more distracting than helpful. 

Conclusion

Based on our survey results, subtitles usage is quite popular in America, maybe even more popular than you think. If entertainment trends of dim lighting, loud background music, and muddled audio continue, it’s likely that the use of subtitles will only increase in popularity. 

While subtitles have benefits and drawbacks, they primarily serve as communication tools to further comprehension for those who are hearing impaired and those who do not speak English as a first language. 

Methodology: On May 12, 2022, we surveyed 1,265 Americans on their use and opinions of subtitles in entertainment. 49% identified as men, 48% identified as women and 3% identified as nonbinary or preferred not to indicate their gender. Of the respondents, 16% were Baby Boomers, 22% were Generation X, 46% were Millennials and 16% were Generation Z.