This paper discussed the advantages and disadvantages of distance learning influences on adult learners. Distance learning has become popular in higher institutions because of its flexibility and availability to learners and teachers at anytime, regardless of geographic location. With so many definitions and phases of distance education, this paper only focuses on the delivery mode of distance education (the use of information technology), background, and its disadvantages and advantages for today’s adult learners. Overall, distance learning is increasingly becoming an alternative in education, industry, large corporation, and various government entities, by and large when students, employees are far and wide spread geographically within and outside that region in which the course has been taken place. As a result of this success, the benefits of distance learning have led many higher educational institutions to implement some distance learning classes, even if on an experimental basis. As a consequence, society in general may benefit from an overall increase in literacy through greater access to education (Belanger & Jordan, 2004). In the United States alone, 62% of public 4-year institutions offered some courses over the Internet in 1995, an increase of 150% over 1992 (National Center for Educational Statistics, 1997).