Gen Z reveal the surprising reasons why they have to watch TV with subtitles on

Gen Z spend more time scrolling on TikTok than they'd like to admit - so why are they watching TV with subtitles when they're looking down at their phones half the time?

A YouGov survey revealed that 53% of 18 to 24-year-olds in Britain use subtitles while watching their favorite TV channels or movies - more than any other age group.

Surprisingly, 55 to 64-year-olds were the least likely to use them, coming in at just 20%.

But why are more Gen Z viewers using subtitles than older groups, who are more prone to hearing loss?

Many Gen Z's scroll on their phones while watching TV (Getty Stock)

The 35,753 people who took part in the survey were later asked why they used subtitles. Some blamed the 'mumbling' of the people onscreen, while others put it down to the differentiating accents, and characters 'talking too quickly,' the authors of the study said.

With the rising cost of living, many Gen Zers can't afford their own places, with a large number of them living in house shares. This can make for a noisy living environment, which is another one of the reasons a number of participants gave.

Another major change is the sheer amount of choice available to audiences today. Back in the day, couch potatoes had just a few channels and TV shows to choose from. Skip to the present day, and audiences have hundreds and thousands of channels, streamers, and films to choose from. Therefore it's more important than ever to keep audiences engaged, which can result in more complicated plot lines.

One person who took part in the survey said: “Without subtitles, I feel like i miss important information and misunderstand the plot line and story, i would rather understand the movie completely without missing any details."

“I also feel like it’s worth mentioning, that some TV it’s like super imperative that you catch every word. If you mis-hear something it can cause a plot hole, so it’s safer to have subs on to make sure you really get what’s happening," another agreed.

Gen Z have thousands of TV channels and films to choose from (Getty Stock)

Others said they kept the volume down to avoid disturbing neighbors, while others said they needed extra help due to ADHD, autism or auditory processing difficulties.

And for others, it's simply just a habit.

Of course, many said they wanted to follow a show while doing something else, such as looking at their cell phones.

What percentage of each group use subtitles?

• 18-24: 53 percent
• 25-34: 46 percent
• 35-44: 35 percent
• 45-54: 24 percent
• 55-64: 20 percent
• 65-74: 22 percent
• 75+: 31 percent