In a nutshell: Subtitle use is on the rise, and Netflix is catering to the trend with a new viewing options. Up to this point, watching with subtitles on Netflix in the original language involved toggling the Subtitles for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (SDH/CC) option. In addition to spoken dialogue, this setting also creates subtitles for audio cues like dramatic music swells and environmental noises, and also labels speaker names.

The new option, which will first appear on new titles coming to Netflix such as season five of You, shows only spoken dialogue – no audio cues or speaker names. Supported titles will feature two subtitle options in English: English (CC), which is the original format with all the extras, and the new pared down option simply labeled English.

Worth noting is the fact that the expanded feature won’t be limited to English. Moving forward, the new format will be available on all new Netflix originals in every language offered. It’s also possible to customize subtitles by changing the size and font for improved readability.

Subtitles may not seem like that big of a deal, especially if you aren’t hard of hearing, but their use is far more widespread than you might suspect. According to a 2024 survey by Preply, half of all Americans watch content with subtitles enabled most of the time and 55 percent believe it’s harder to hear dialogue in shows and movies than it used to be.

This is in line with Netflix’s own observations. According to the streaming giant, nearly half of all viewing hours in the US happen with subtitles or captions enabled.

As someone that doesn’t watch with subtitles on (I find them too distracting), the statistics are rather surprising. I would never have guessed subtitle usage to be so high. Do you use them regularly, and if so, for what purpose? Watching content in public or while someone is sleeping? To help with foreign language flicks? Or do you just feel that dialogue really is harder to discern nowadays?