I Finally Figured out Why Readers Highlight One Word

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Abstract

y intentional to highlight text, and it rarely happens by mistake. Although, I’ve done this. When it comes to technology, I’ve made all the mistakes. I accidentally deleted a tweet of mine that had 3,500 likes.</p><p id="edfa">I didn’t think about the one-word highlight for a while.</p><p id="54b6">Then the other day, someone asked if he could translate a few of my posts into Chinese. Duh, readers, highlight words they don’t know the meaning of and want to look up later. Not sure why this took me so long to figure out. I do the same thing, only in actual books, not on a computer or a phone.</p><p id="b078">Sometimes we get trapped in our own little bubble, our own small world, our own little minds we forget the larger world we live in. Not everyone speaks English. Writers on Medium are from all over the world, places I have yet to see. Medium has readers from across the globe. Not all of them speak English fluently. Of course, we Americans mostly only know one language and are ignorant that people from other countries usually speak several languages, with English being one.</p><p id="5247">I was in my American bubble.</p><p id="5be6">Are people highlighting one word to look up its actual meaning?</p><p id="18ba">If I’m mistaken about this, please leave comments below.</p><div id="0d28" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/how-i-generate-ideas-all-day-long-and-never-run-out-of-th

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I was in my own bubble.

Unlike other writers, I don’t have a problem with readers highlighting one word in an essay of 1,500 words. As long as you read my writing, I greatly appreciate you taking the time to read one word I wrote or all 1,500. But it is curious.

At first, I thought readers were highlighting only words that were misspelled, prompting me to frantically look up said word that I was sure was spelled correctly. I’d stare at the word on google for a few seconds making sure I saw the letters correctly while blinking a few times. Every time I looked up a word, it was spelled correctly. I did this for about six months into my writing journey until I stopped and realized it was something else.

Then I thought, maybe readers highlighted one word by accident. That didn’t make sense. On this platform, you have to be pretty intentional to highlight text, and it rarely happens by mistake. Although, I’ve done this. When it comes to technology, I’ve made all the mistakes. I accidentally deleted a tweet of mine that had 3,500 likes.

I didn’t think about the one-word highlight for a while.

Then the other day, someone asked if he could translate a few of my posts into Chinese. Duh, readers, highlight words they don’t know the meaning of and want to look up later. Not sure why this took me so long to figure out. I do the same thing, only in actual books, not on a computer or a phone.

Sometimes we get trapped in our own little bubble, our own small world, our own little minds we forget the larger world we live in. Not everyone speaks English. Writers on Medium are from all over the world, places I have yet to see. Medium has readers from across the globe. Not all of them speak English fluently. Of course, we Americans mostly only know one language and are ignorant that people from other countries usually speak several languages, with English being one.

I was in my American bubble.

Are people highlighting one word to look up its actual meaning?

If I’m mistaken about this, please leave comments below.

Jessica is a writer, an online entrepreneur, and a recovering type-A personality. She lives in Los Angeles with her extrovert daughter, two dogs, and two cats.