There are always two sides to a story, as the saying goes. When viewing videos online, some people appreciate captions, while others are not happy with them. You can put down the appreciation as being subjective. Some people do not like them because they cannot follow the scenes on screen since they are slow readers. Other people find captions distracting them from viewing the video properly.
But people who find captions vital can fully appreciate their inclusion in the video content they are viewing. And in today’s virtual landscape, where you can find videos everywhere, captions are vital to individuals, companies, and organizations in varying degrees.
Importance of video captioning today
With most people confined to their homes today, and many working from home, communication is essential. People use online video conferencing tools, such as Zoom, for regular meetings, special conferences, project management meetings, and other live events. But in these types of online arrangements, you cannot expect every participant to have good quality reception all the time. There could be a faulty internet connection, or the audio quality might be low. In addition, some of the speakers may have deep voices or speak with an accent that is difficult to understand. These issues can be remedied by live captions for Zoom. With live captions, every participant in the meeting can understand what the speaker is saying.
But captioning is not only beneficial to online meetings. There are other benefits that organizations, individuals, and companies can gain by providing captions to their video content.
Help for people with hearing impairments
Video captions (or same-language subtitles) benefit every person who watches videos. Captioning improves comprehension, memory, and attention for the video. They are beneficial for adults and children who are learning to read, people who are watching videos, not in their native language, and people who are hard of hearing or deaf.
While there are laws in the U.S. requiring captioning of video and audio content for public use, many video producers and creators are still unaware of the mandate.
Easier access to content
Most people are glued to their mobile devices today. Since they are constantly on the go, they either multitask or spend some of their time for entertainment while waiting in line, riding public transport, having a snack, or taking a break from studying. In addition, most of them consume video content and without sound at that.
Thus, video content producers must make it easy for viewers to engage with their materials in today’s online environment. Captioning allows audiences to watch videos wherever they are and still enjoy the video even without sound. Various studies prove that more people are likely to watch a video when captions are available.
Improve audience comprehension and attention
It is easier to catch and keep the attention of your audience if there are captions. People watch videos longer if there are captions, which help deliver information better and improve your content’s search engine performance. In addition, captions help viewers understand a video better. Captions in online learning materials help nearly all students improve their comprehension of various topics.
If you are new to captions, it might take a while to get used to them. But you will soon appreciate how they help you understand video content faster, communicate easier, and access information while on the go.