Hi beefox.
I think removing "hyperlinks" wouldn't "get rid of the interconnectedness". It would simply slow down traversing interconnectedness.
If I'm understanding it correctly, the html anchor tag provides convenience and increases readability by associating potentially ugly URLs and simpler text. But plain text URLs instead of anchor elements would still provide the interconnectedness, only that interconnectedness would appear uglier, and it would require more effort to copy/paste such URLs instead of simply clicking on the simpler text associated with them.
The theory is that from an addiction point of view, anchor-element-facilitated "infinite click" isn't too different from the "infinite scroll" I've been increasingly seeing cast in a negative light.