The Benedictine monks at the Portsmouth Abbey in Portsmouth have a problem. They are aging and their numbers have fallen to 12…

Monks embrace web to reach recruits

Stew Milne for The New York Times

The Benedictine monks at the Portsmouth Abbey in Portsmouth have a problem. They are aging and their numbers have fallen to 12, from a peak of about 24 in 1969. So the monks have taken to the Internet with an elaborate ad campaign featuring videos, a blog and even a Gregorian chant ringtone. “If this is the way the younger generation are looking things up and are communicating, then this is the place to be”, said Abbot Caedmon Holmes, who has been in charge of the abbey since 2007. That place is far from the solitary lives that some may think monks live. In fact, in this age of social media, the monks have embraced what may be the most popular form of public self-expression: a Facebook page, where they have uploaded photos and video testimonials. Some monks will even write blogs.

MILNE, S. Disponível em: www.nytimes.com. Acesso em: 19 jun. 2012 (adaptado).

A internet costuma ser um veículo de comunicação associado às camadas mais jovens da população, embora não exclusivamente a elas. Segundo o texto, a razão que levou os religiosos a fazerem uma campanha publicitária na internet foi o(a)