Live captions have many benefits for end-users; one of the most important is that they allow deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals to enjoy TV shows, movies, sports, and more in real-time. However, the importance of disability inclusion in society cannot be understated. People with disabilities are often the first to experience issues such as physical, emotional, and mental abuse. This can go on to impact their ability to attend school, work, or socialize freely. Disability Inclusion has also been shown to lead to a reduction in suicide rates and hospitalizations. Providing live captions for everyone has benefits, but especially where it concerns inclusion. Here are five examples of why live captioning for people with disabilities can be beneficial.
A Better Understanding
Live captioning has many benefits for people who are hard of hearing or deaf. For example, live captions allow deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals to enjoy television shows, movies, sports, and more real-time. It goes beyond this, though. Live captioning helps people with hearing loss understand the programs they’re watching. Using captions also allows those with hearing loss to turn on their televisions and listen to any part of a program’s dialogue that they choose.
More Societal Enjoyment
Without live captioning, deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals would miss out on educational programs, sports events, and movies that they would like to watch, leading to further isolation in society. Using live caption can help disabled people feel included in social settings as it enables disabled individuals to participate in activities that they might not be able to physically perform at home but may still enjoy, such as sports commentary.
Easier to Understand Accents
Accents can be difficult for people who are not hard of hearing to understand, but for anyone who is suffering from hearing loss, a heavy accent can make things even more challenging and lead to frustration with the show or movie they are watching and may even contribute to a feeling of lower self-esteem.
Live captioning makes it easier for everyone to understand accents and gives the viewer a better understanding of what is being said. For viewers and those with hearing loss, this ability to follow the program just as well as everyone else is a game-changer. Captions also enable people to better understand movies and television shows that are in different languages when captions are provided in their native tongue.
A Deeper Understanding Of The Meaning Behind The Words
Live captioning allows for the natural flow of a presentation without loss of meaning. Additionally, this allows deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals to access the main gist of a presentation, opening up wider learning opportunities.
A Greater Sense Of Independence
For hard of hearing and deaf individuals, live captioning allows them to watch movies, television shows, or sports without relying on their friends or family members to sign to the dialogue for them. This helps to foster a deeper sense of independence and self-reliance.
This is expanded even more when captions are available for the hearing impaired in social media video content on platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.