Hacking's influence on popular, and not so popular, culture parallels the rapid growth of both
the personal computer industry and the interconnection of personal computers into
formalized networks. Society started becoming aware of hackers as computers became
increasingly accessible and as computer networks grew in both size (number of terminals)
and popularity (number of users) throughout the late seventies and early eighties.
Hacking begins to enter popular culture in the 1980s, when a slew of movies, novels,

television commercials, magazines, newsletters, and even academic proceedings dealt with
the rising incidence of hacking, cracking, phreaking, computer access, and associated
technology. Media and entertainment vehicles in the 1980s also introduced and popularized
hacking and the hacker’s belief system. The two events credited with doing the most in this
area were the release of the movie War Games, which depicted the existence of hacking and