The report from business and technology research agency Quocirca notes that Metcalfe's Law of network value states that the value of a telecoms network increases with the square of the number of connections.
According to Rob Bamforth, a security analyst and author of the report, whether that rule is precise or not has been subject of some debate, with various proponents of different formulae, but that is not the main security and efficiency question today.
There is, says Bamforth, a downside to network connection ubiquity, as some networks become stretched to breaking point as available resources struggle to cope with the demands of increasing numbers of users.
Some mobile networks in particular have been hard hit, dealing with surges in new users or new mobile application usage, with the iPhone and Android platforms being cases in point, he adds.
"But something other than stretched resources is starting to affect the value of networks: a corollary of Metcalfe's Law is that the larger the physical network of connection points, the larger the social network of people", says the report.
The nett result of the surge of usage of social networks is that it increases the volume of the banal, irksome, trivial and stupid.
The report goes on to say that there are further problems in that some of the rubbish clogging the system can be automatically generated such as spam or email updates that have been signed up for but later regretted - sometimes referred to as bacon.
"This rubbish propagates rapidly and it is not at all easy to distinguish from valuable communication. Whether it is search engine results, friend requests, emails or interstitial web pages, there will be some that are too important to miss, hidden amongst the noise", says the report.
So what can be done to counter the problem of spam and bacon clogging our mailboxes and business lives?
Bamforth claims that it is unlikely that a binary switch - banning social networking during office hours and switching off corporate mobile email during holidays - will work or even be desirable, but just like the filters that have been put in place for the unwelcome deluge of spam, something automatic is now required.
There are, says the report, a number of filtering tools and services available, although mostly emerging from the need to curtail access or protect data.
"These are generally deployed by IT, network and security specialists and justified on the grounds of reducing risks and vulnerability", says the report.
"However given the increasing risk to productivity at both a personal and organisational level, a new set of tools - or interfaces to existing filters - needs to emerge to be marketed and sold to the line of business management, human resources and individual employees", the report adds.
"It is no longer a technical sell, but if presented and positioned correctly could be knocking on an open door. A flexible and easy-to-use time management solution for the digital age - perhaps Filofax 2.0? - would be most welcome".