How did it begin? Who thought of the idea of emphasising sentences by, er, covering it with ink instead of underlining it or circling it? Was this practise derided by teachers at the beginning? Did parents shake their head when teenagers began to highlight textbooks?
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The practice itself is likely older.
Occasionally, I shake my head even today when I see some students’ colorful, are-wide painted textbooks.
Some people don’t seem to understand that the idea behind highlighting is to point out what’s important. It’s of no use if you ink two thirds of the text.
Somehow, though I have no evidence, I thought highlighting started as a bright idea by teachers or other adults, and it was kids who were shaking their heads when being told to do it.
Then, bit by bit, it got to be a compulsive thing 