The article examines classic technology acceptance models such as the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT), which allow the relatively accurate prediction of technology use intentions, but do not always explain why some technologies, despite their perceived usefulness, remain unaccepted or are used differently than expected. The article assumes that this limitation is related to the logic of instrumental rationality underlying classic technology acceptance models. The study employs conceptual analysis by reconstructing the main constructs of technology acceptance models and interpreting them through Erich Fromm’s distinction between having and being. The analysis has revealed that classic technology acceptance models predominantly reflect a relationship with technology characteristic of the ‘having’ orientation, grounded in the logic of functionality, control and efficiency. The article contributes to technology acceptance theory by offering an interpretative extension of classic models and a conceptual foundation for a future methodology of analysing life orientations in gerontotechnology research.