What the purpose of the getSelectedItem() from the ListView

Question

What the purpose of the getSelectedItem() from the ListView if a list can\'t keep state of a selected item ?

Answer 1

It can keep track of a selected item if you were to use say, a checkbox or a checkedtextview, but if you want to keep track of your selected items via a "highlighted background", then it's not possible (unless you want to have a hidden checkbox)