The discovery of agriculture was crucial in the sedentarization of our ancestors.
The act and consequence of becoming sedentary is called sedentarization . This verb (sedentarize), for its part, refers to making someone become sedentary .
Before moving forward with the idea of sedentarization, it is important to indicate that a sedentary people is one that is settled in a particular place , unlike a nomadic group. A sedentary person , meanwhile, performs little physical activity .
Adopt a sedentary lifestyle
According to anthropology, sedentarization is the process that a community develops by abandoning the nomadic life and adopting a sedentary lifestyle . Sedentarization can be associated with the establishment of the first cities, which were born about ten thousand years ago.
Sedentarization is understood as a historical process that began with those pioneering cities and extends to the present. Today, the vast majority of people are sedentary: they settle in one place. This does not mean that there are no differences in the organization of each one, but that despite these, almost everyone has managed to organize themselves with this condition.
Despite the lasting effects of sedentarization, it is important to keep in mind that humans lived longer in nomadism, from prehistoric phases to the consolidation of agriculture. Agricultural practices, in fact, were key in the sedentarization and organization of cities .
The possibility of exploiting the earth completely changed the conception that our species had about its own needs and the methods to satisfy them. The planet became a much more flexible, less severe source of resources, since it did not force us to constantly move in search of food. However, we have not known how to use this power responsibly, and that is why we have put the stability of the entire planet at risk.
Current lifestyle
Beyond these questions specific to anthropology and history, nowadays people often talk about sedentarization to refer to the transition towards a lifestyle characterized by a lack of physical exercise . There are societies that are going through a stage of sedentarization linked to the adoption of new technologies: more and more people satisfy their needs without leaving their home. This sedentary lifestyle causes various health problems, such as an increase in obesity .
The debate around the negative consequences of technologies is as inevitable as their advancement. It happened with television, then with video games and, currently, with the Internet. Does television make us less intelligent? Or more violent play? Is the Internet responsible for our sedentary lifestyle? The answers to these and other similar questions are relative , but we must always remember that none of these activities or technologies are mandatory, but are presented as complementary options for our daily lives.
Sedentary lifestyle can be avoided or reduced with an exercise routine.
Without a doubt, the Internet provides us with a series of conveniences that allow us to carry out activities such as accessing a library, watching a movie, attending a class or even working without leaving our home , something that a few years ago would have been the stuff of a futuristic movie All of this contributes to considerably reducing our physical activity, and tempts us to sit still for many more hours than in the past. However, we must highlight that we can always organize ourselves to combine these new trends with physical exercise.
In other words, sedentary lifestyle exists if we use technology as an absolute replacement for the lifestyle that forced us to leave the house to shop, study and work. But if we decide to take breaks every so often to walk, go outdoors or simply stretch our bodies, we can reduce the negative impact considerably.