It's just another example of cumbersome UI design that comes as a byproduct of the game being thought with multiplayer in mind.
I can't say I suffered this specific problem too much, but generally speaking I wish at least for single player sessions Larian would let us set autopause/highlight options.
It's kind of telling that even 20 years older games like the previous two BG had a far more sleek/ergonomic and pleastant-looking presentation when it comes to this stuff (spotting traps, hidden things, etc).
