Who Uses Television Captions, When, and Why? Analyses Based on the Australian Television Caption Users Survey

Abstract

Despite the popularity of television captioning among deaf and hard-of-hearing Australians and its utility for other sections of the community (e.g., second language learners of English), there is little systematic research on relevant factors in captioning and patterns of caption use. This paper reports data from the Television Caption Users Survey (conducted October–December, 2000), the largest Australian survey to date of caption users' viewing habits and preferences. The results of this survey have not been previously reported beyond the submission of an industry report, but remain entirely pertinent to the current situation of caption usage in Australia and internationally. Results indicate that caption use is influenced strongly by functional hearing level and experience with captions, as well as by demographic factors. Possible underuse of captions by certain groups warrants further research both by survey and experimental approaches.