Subtitles

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Yes, I'm so accustomed to viewing subtitles that I sometimes feel uneasy when subtitles are absent. As a non-American, I rely heavily on subtitles to understand American shows.

I selected the second one. I can usually follow what they are saying, but sometimes I don't always hear because I'm quite deaf and I don't like to turn my telly up too loud. Also I don't always understand the American accent, so subtitles often solve that problem.

What I love to do is look for DVDs of films that I have got on video, just so I can watch the whole film through with the subtitles on, and see if I can understand it better and see if I have missed something.

Always.

I loooove subtitles!! ! Before using them, I would rarely understand what was being said at many times in a movie. Especially those movies that go from ridiculously loud explosions, etc, to then down to a whispering scene with important dialogue...

I, too, wish there could be subtitles in real life

Same. If it's a language I can follow, like Dutch, English, or German, I do not use the subs. With French, however, they are a necessity.

Used to when I was younger an awful lot more than I do now. Usually, these days I just restrict it to when a film or television programme is not in English.

Same with me as well.

English is not my first language. Sometimes I'm able to understand everything without susbtitles, but I'd rather have them. Make things easier.

I use English subs for everything that's not in Norwegian. Only problem with it is that I sometimes read all the text before they actually say it, which can be annoying at times. And also sometimes the translations are wrong, especially the ones on TV, especially Norwegian subs.

It's funny, because when I was around your age (or a bit younger, maybe 17) I'd watch shows on the BBC, and I'd prefer to use the Ceefax subtitles (in English) so that I could follow everything. Back then, if I didn't, there'd be things I miss. These days, however, I can watch shows and films in the English language without subtitles, and I don't miss anything.
I think it helps that I started posting on English language message boards as of 2007, and subsequently ended up working at a factory where the main language was English.

If it's a language I can understand I find subtitles very distracting.

I hate using subtitles unless I'm watching a movie in a language that I can't understand. I end up reading the subtitles and become distracted from the actual movie.

Hate subtitles. SOOOO distracting they drive me nuts!

I'm usually OK with most high quality English recordings sound-wise, but still prefer subtitles as there will always be difficult moments to understand and I tend to relax and get into the film better when I can read what's being said.
I don't have any problem with foreign films if there are subtitles.
Where I do have problems, is when I'm trying to watch a poor quality recording of a talk by people like Temple Grandin or Tony Attwood.

Unfortunately many of the informational recordings/amateur documentaries about ASD are not optimised to cater for those on the spectrum with subtitles, and often have distracting background music or sound as well as poor sound quality.
Makes me feel excluded when I can't understand large chunks of them.

I don't like to use subtitles when watching / playing something for the first time. There are three main reasons:

(1.) They ruin the "spontaneous" nature of the dialogue. For example, you can tell in advance if someone's line is going to be interrupted.

(2.) In a video game, not quite being able to make out a conversation because you are too far away is actually a very cool experience. For example, in a stealth game, you might be sneakily approaching two guards who are having a chat. As you get closer, you can understand them better and better.

(3.) They can draw your eye away from the action.

However, on repeat viewings / playings, I might put them on so I can see some content I might have missed the first time.