What type of media should always have captions to ensure accessibility?

Captions are critical for videos to ensure accessibility for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing. They provide a text representation of the spoken dialogue as well as descriptions of relevant sounds or audio elements, allowing viewers to fully understand the content without reliance on hearing. This accessibility feature is also beneficial in noisy environments or for individuals who may have difficulty processing audio information.

While other media types, such as audio music, images, and text articles, have their own accessibility considerations—like alt text for images or transcripts for audio—videos are unique in often including both visual and auditory components that are essential for understanding. Thus, incorporating captions in videos is fundamental to making the content inclusive and comprehensible to a broader audience.