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Welcome to The Guardian long read, showcasing the best long-form journalism covering culture, politics and new thinking.

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This article contains some swearing.

How to survive the information crisis.

We once talked about fake news.

Now reality itself feels fake.

In this age of crisis, technology is pulling us apart.

At its best, journalism can bring us together again.

This is written and read by Catherine Viner.

That's me. I'm editor-in-chief of The Guardian.

Thank you. I'm editor-in-chief of The Guardian. I have a confession to make.

It has taken me years to write this article.

For a long time, I have felt that something was missing in the public conversation

about human connection and community

and how they are being eroded. And yet I haven't been able to articulate it. Thinking and writing

have become harder. It's as if the neurons in my brain don't connect with each other in quite the

same way.

I go to check a fact and get instantly diverted by a hundred other distractions on my phone.

I find myself unable to devote time to thinking and writing like I used to.

It could be the relentless news agenda, but the news has been relentless throughout my 11 years as editor-in-chief of The Guardian.

It could be age, but I'm not that old. It could be menopause, but I'm on all the drugs.

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