How to use closed captioning to improve your online watching experience

With more and more people watching video content online, ensuring your experience is as good as possible is important. By using closed captioning, you can improve the audio and video quality and ensure you're getting all the information you need. Here's how to use closed captioning on your favourite streaming platforms!

What closed captioning is and how it works

Closed captioning is a text display of the spoken words in a video, typically in the same language as the audio. Closed captions are critical for deaf or hard of hearing viewers, but they're also useful for viewers who want to watch a video without sound or who need to understand the audio better. Closed captions can be turned on or off, depending on the viewer's preference.

Closed captioning is created by transcribing the audio of a video into text. The text is then synchronized with the video to appear on the screen when the corresponding words are spoken. Closed captioning can be done manually or automatically, but most captions nowadays are created using speech-to-text software.

Closed captioning is available on most video platforms, including YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram. To turn closed captions on or off on YouTube, simply click the "CC" button in the bottom right corner of the video player. You'll find the "CC" button on Facebook and Instagram in the menu that opens when you click the three dots in the top right corner of a video.

If you're Gen Z, chances are you've grown up with closed captioning. But even if you're not part of Gen Z, closed captioning can be a helpful tool for understanding videos without sound or multitasking while watching. So next time you watch a video, whether with sound or without, consider turning on closed captions.

A recent survey of around 1,200 Americans concluded that most young adults watch content with text subtitles most of the time. The study, which was conducted by the language-teaching app Preply, found that 70% of Gen Z respondents (ages 18 to 25) and 53% of millennials (up to age 41) said they typically watch content with text enabled. This is compared to slightly more than a third of older respondents who said the same.

The benefits of using closed captioning

Closed captioning has come a long way from the days of G-Rated movies displaying white text on a black background. Now, video platforms like Netflix are using Closed Captioning to provide colourful play-by-plays and descriptions that add to the viewer experience. Closed Captioning can also be used to learn a new language, decipher a heavy accent or muttered dialogue, or simply follow the plot without missing a beat. With the number of Closed Captioning users more than doubled since 2017, it's clear that this feature is here to stay. So whether you're trying to multitask or just want to watch your favourite show in peace, Closed Captioning is the way to go.

Rachael Knoth, a 23-year-old artist in Dothan, Ala., relies on captions to follow along with videos. Even though she hasn’t been diagnosed with hearing loss, she finds it difficult to watch videos without them.

“In class, when they play videos, and they don’t have the captions on, I have to pay close attention,” Ms Knoth says. If she doesn’t, it’s common for her to misunderstand the speakers for a minute or two, she adds.

How to enable and use closed captioning on different devices

There's no need to feel left out when your friends are watching videos, and you can't hear the audio. Closed captioning enables you to read the audio of a video in text form, so you can follow along with the action. And with so many different devices and video platforms available, there's no excuse not to use them! Here's a quick guide on how to enable and use closed captions on Different devices:

- On Different devices, open the Settings menu and select Accessibility. Scroll down to Closed Captions and select your preferences.

- On most video platforms, the Closed Captioning settings are found in the playback menu. Simply select the CC icon and choose your preferred language.

- If you're watching a video on TikTok, you can enable Closed Captions by tapping the CC icon at the bottom of the screen. For Instagram videos, tap the three dots in the bottom right corner and select Turn On Closed Captions.

Kpenkaan, who creates comedy videos, sees inclusivity as a method to reach more views and believes that open captions help individuals understand his jokes. By adding their captions manually, many creators have filled the accessibility gap. Mr Kpenkaan is one of these people and still does this today because it cannot be turned off.

Mr Kpenkaan uses humour in many of his videos by playing around with aspects such as placement and emojis, which captioning provides. He says that “captioning is just another medium to be creative”. His most popular TikTok video (featuring him and a friend on a romantic swan-boat ride) has accrued over 36 million views and was the first he made with captions.

Tips for improving your online watching experience with closed captioning

Closed captioning is a great option if you're looking for ways to improve your online watching experience. Closed captioning can be used on many different video platforms and can be helpful for viewers of all ages. For example, closed captioning can be useful for people who are hard of hearing or want to watch a video in a noisy environment. Closed captioning can be turned on for any audio, whether during a FaceTime call, in a streaming-video app, or just picked up by the device's microphone. Closed captioning is also available in many different languages. To turn on closed captioning, simply go to Settings > Accessibility and turn on the "Closed Captioning" option.

By default, social media apps like Instagram generate captions for uploaded videos, which can be turned on within the videos. (Creators can choose not to have captions or to add their own open captioning instead.) Similarly, Snapchat users can turn on auto-generated subtitles for the app’s Discover page, and as of last year, they too can use auto-captioning in their recorded snaps.

The future of closed captioning

Closed captioning has come a long way since its humble beginnings. What started as a way to provide subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing has evolved into a critical part of the viewing experience for millions of people. Today, closed captioning is used not only to provide subtitles but also to transcribe live events, improve accessibility, and even create memes.

As Closed Captioning continues to evolve, we can expect to see it become an even more integral part of the viewing experience. With more and more video platforms offering Closed Captioning options, we can expect Closed Captioning to become the norm rather than the exception. This is especially true for younger generations like Gen Z, who are growing up with Closed Captioning as a part of their everyday lives. Closed Captioning is here to stay, and we can only expect it to become more ubiquitous in the years to come.

Closed captioning is an amazing way to improve your online watching experience. By adding captions, you can understand the dialogue better and enjoy the jokes and subtleties that may be missed when watching a show without them. If you’re looking for more social media-related content, follow us on social media – we’ve got all the latest news and tips to help make your online life easier. Thanks for reading!

• https://preply.com/en/blog/americas-subtitles-use/

• https://www.tiktok.com/@bocxtop/video/7077760834310655274?_r=1&_t=8ViGGv4cktm&is_from_webapp=v1&item_id=7077760834310655274