I think saying crouching sounds better than squatting. But since most people say squatting I’ll stick with that.
Most adults in the first world rarely, if ever, crouch or squat down with their bums close to their heels and their feet flat on the ground. You can see little kids squatting down all the time instead of standing or sitting and sometime just to get lower. After their first few years, most kids in the West become sitters too.
It’s still a common way to sit in many parts of the world. We were squatters for a long time before we became chronic sitters. It turns out that squatting is good for many parts of our bodies. Squatting increases the range of motion for your hips, knees, and ankles. Kelly Starrett is a well thought of and entertaining Doctor of physical therapy who insists on a 10 minute squat test every month.
Learning to squat isn’t a paleolithic reenactment for its own sake. Squatting lets us take back what chairs and sofas have robbed us of, namely a stronger core and more flexible hips, by crouching down until the thighs rest against the calves while the feet are flat on the floor.
I’ve been doing it a little bit every day for a couple of years and have gotten a better range of motion in lots of joints. It’s helped my surfing and Brazilian jiu jitsu by enabling me to bring my knees up to my chest in some situations more easily than before I started squatting down.
Be careful though, after you start squatting, the next thing you know is that you may have urges to go barefoot sometimes too.