AP Poll Reveals Why Young Adults Are More Likely To Use Movie Subtitles

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A recent poll shows that young adults are increasingly choosing to watch movies with subtitles or closed captions. This practice is becoming so common that there are even jokes online about wanting all movies in theaters to include them.

A recent Associated Press poll found that younger adults are much more likely to use subtitles than older adults. About 40% of those under 45 regularly use them, compared to only 30% of those over 45. The poll also showed that adults aged 60 and over are the least likely to use subtitles, with many saying they never do.

The findings suggest young adults frequently use subtitles because they often watch content in noisy places or while doing other things. Across all ages, about 30% of U.S. adults also rely on subtitles when watching in noisy environments.

David Barber, president of the Motion Picture Sound Editors, thinks the poll results reflect how different age groups experience sound. Here’s what he had to say:

A lot of today’s younger generation grew up multitasking – like listening to music while watching TV. This means they tend to absorb information in short bursts, almost half-listening and half-watching at the same time. It’s a pretty noticeable trend.

Hearing abilities change with age, and this is reflected in subtitle use. Around 30% of adults 60 and over report needing subtitles due to hearing loss, compared to just 7% of young adults.

More than half of subtitle users (55%) find that closed captions help them understand everything that’s being said while watching TV or movies. This is particularly useful for shows and films with lots of made-up words or terminology, like those in the Star Wars and Avatar universes, or many superhero movies.

I’ve noticed a lot of people, me included, are turning on subtitles these days. For many of us, it’s because we’re watching shows or movies in languages we don’t speak, or sometimes it’s just hard to follow what the actors are saying because of their accents. It seems like about 4 in 10 adults feel the same way!

The poll also found that 25% of viewers use subtitles due to poor audio. According to Barber, this is often because TV speakers are typically located on the back of the set and pointed towards the wall, meaning people aren’t using a high-quality sound system anyway.

Sound designer Karol Urban notes that actors now tend to deliver performances that are more subdued and intimate. This can make it harder to capture clear dialogue, especially with all the other sounds present in modern productions.

Older films generally used fewer sound effects and musical scores. Adding lots of extra sounds underneath spoken lines creates more audio frequencies that can make the dialogue harder to understand.

Ariaunna Davis, 21, told the Associated Press that shows like HBO’s Game of Thrones often use sound effectively to create atmosphere. She explained that dialogue might be quiet and subdued in darker scenes, while other scenes could feature loud, booming music, creating a dramatic effect.

Lots of great science fiction movies are planned for 2026, and with films of all types being released, subtitles will remain an important topic, particularly as viewing habits change.

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2025-12-25 02:41