More and more young people are using subtitles when they watch TV — as many as four out of five, 18 to 25-year-olds, according to this study — but it's not always because they're deaf or hard of hearing. According to one expert, subtitles "can help us keep on track with shows and movies" that we're otherwise distracted from — because we're looking at other stuff, like the smaller screen in our hand, at the same time.
Subtitles ultimately exist to make TV shows and films accessible for those with hearing issues, though, and the National Disability Authority says "English language subtitles for a general audience should not usually exceed 170 words per minute (wpm) and, if possible, be kept to a maximum 140 words."
A study by WordFinderX, however, reveals that a number of popular TV shows exceed the 140 wpm and in some cases the 170 wpm barriers. The findings, visualized in the graphic below, show which TV shows are the hardest to follow with subtitles.
Click images to enlarge
Key Findings:
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The trickiest show to understand overall is "It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia," with 176.2 wpm subtitles.
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Of all the genres studied, comedy is the most difficult to follow and it has an average of 133.6 wpm across the 15 wordiest comedy titles.
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None of the popular sci-fi or fantasy shows analyzed had a difficulty level exceeding 100 wpm.
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At 115 wpm, DC's "Legends Of Tomorrow" is the superhero show with the hardest subtitles to follow.
Via WordFinderX.
