Social documentary photography is still prevalent all over the world today. It is often used to show the horrors of war, disease, and poverty, but is also used to promote peace. Lewis Hine's photographs directly affect how social documentary photographers view the world as we know it.
"Mr. Light’s [a modern social documentarian's] work descends from the social documentation of Dorothea Lange, Walker Evans, Lewis Hine and Jacob Riis."-New York Times, "A Photographer’s Trail to Appalachia," April 28, 2010
"[S]ocial documentary photography is one of the most important forms of photography now. ...There is no question that it is a great industry, social documentary photography. It is ... a very important part of how we record the news these days." -Joe Manning