On Second Screens and Subtitled Shows

Bear with me for a second while I set up this essay by falling back on the old reliable, “back in my day bit”…but back in my day, when we sat down to watch television, we’d watch television. Now, I can barely sit down to watch anything without checking Instagram, scrolling through a few TikToks, or going through my emails. This is pretty much the norm these days, enough so that it’s gotten its own term: second-screen viewing. According to a 2019 study, nearly 88% of Americans use a second screen while watching TV.

I’m not here to pass judgment. I’m guilty of second screening constantly…hell I’ll even third or fourth screen sometimes. I don’t know if this trend is good or bad, and I don’t think we’ll have a definitive answer for quite a while. The way I do like to think about it is through a somewhat historical (and comical) point of view: I know for a fact that when humans invented fire, there was a group of old farts who would complain that today’s Neanderthals think they’re too good for raw meat and freezing to death. They have no patience for the endless dark abyss that is nighttime.

The same thing goes for the invention of the printing press: curmudgeons were absolutely bitching about how kids today have their noses buried in books and don’t have the attention span to sit and watch the cows graze all day! My point is that we’re a species that is always creating new ways to make old people mad about how things are being done these days, and that will never change.

Sometimes, however, it can be kind of nice to put away screens 2 through 5 and just focus on what you’re doing for a little bit. It’s tough, though, to get your brain to slow down and ignore all the feelings of potential FOMO from everything in the digital realm. What if your friends are passing around some really spicy memes? What if some bonkers political stuff is dropping right now? What if your favorite athlete on your favorite team decides they actually don’t believe the earth is round anymore and they’re absolutely losing their shit arguing with scientists about it on social media? Well, that stuff will still be there in 30 minutes.

The way I’ve been working through this FOMO is with subtitled media. Whether it’s foreign films (man, what an American-centric term…I hate it) or anime, or reality shows from the other side of the world. The less you understand the language, the better. Only once you dive into these programs do you realize how much we coast through just skimming with our ears. I’ll be watching an incredible anime that I’m super invested in and suddenly I’m looking at my phone because my lizard brain is as broken as everybody else's and when I look up, I realize that I have NO idea what’s going on because I stopped reading for the last three and a half minutes.

If you’re like me, and you need an occasional break from the hyperstimulating reality that we’re constantly immersed in, try watching something with subtitles. I promise it’ll be fun!

So, what are your thoughts on second screening? Have you found subtitled media helpful?