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Why many young adults turn on TV or movie subtitles, according to a new poll
About 40% of adults under 45 use subtitles often, mainly due to noisy settings and to catch every word, the AP-NORC poll found.
- A survey by The Associated Press-NORC Center conducted Aug. 21-25, 2025, found that about 4 in 10 adults under 45 often use subtitles while watching TV or movies.
- This subtitle use among younger adults results mainly from noisy environments, multitasking, and poor audio quality, while older users cite hearing impairments or difficulty understanding accents.
- Interviewees like Taylor Heine from Tennessee said they switch between listening and reading subtitles to follow dialogue while multitasking, and Ariaunna Davis uses captions to avoid constant volume adjustments.
- The poll of 1,182 adults has a margin of sampling error of ±3.8 percentage points, and 55% of subtitle-users say they turn them on to catch every word.
- These findings suggest that subtitle use is influenced by both environmental factors and cultural habits, with younger adults more likely to adopt captions than older adults.
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77 Articles
Younger Americans Are Surprisingly Into Subtitles
At the 2020 Golden Globes, Parasite director Bong Joon Ho described subtitles as a “one-inch-tall barrier.” In that case, the filmmaker was specifically talking about Anglophone audiences watching films made in languages other than English. It’s always encouraging to see film and television viewers get outside of their comfort zones, and the success of international series like Lupin and Squid Game have been grounds for encouragement.But there’s…
Taylor Heine, 35, often multitasks while watching TV shows or movies at home. “I’m playing on my phone, petting my pets, maybe cleaning or picking things up,” she says.
Coverage Details
Total News Sources77
Leaning Left13Leaning Right5Center51Last UpdatedBias Distribution74% Center
Bias Distribution
- 74% of the sources are Center
74% Center
L 19%
C 74%
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