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Article History

Received: 4 April 2025

Accepted: 19 March 2026

First Online: 4 April 2026

Competing interests

: The authors declare no competing interests.

: The research protocol for the study titled “Beyond Digital Literacy: A Structural Model Analysis of Technology Acceptance Among Elderly Persons” was reviewed by the Internal Research Committee (IRC), Symbiosis School of Economics, Symbiosis International (Deemed University), Pune, India. The manuscript and associated research materials were received by the committee on 23 February 2026 and formally reviewed on 11 March 2026. Following the review of the study objectives, methodology, sampling procedures, questionnaire instrument, informed consent process, and data analysis plan, the IRC concluded that the study involves non-interventional social science research using anonymised survey data collected from adult participants aged 60 years and above. The study does not involve clinical procedures, medical interventions, psychological experimentation, collection of biological samples, or collection of sensitive personal or health-related data. Based on this assessment, the Internal Research Committee recommended that the study be granted a waiver of formal ethical approval by the Institutional Ethics Committee (IEC) as it falls under minimal-risk behavioural and social science research conducted through voluntary participation using anonymised questionnaires. All research procedures were conducted in accordance with relevant institutional guidelines and ethical principles for research involving human participants, including the principles outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki.

: Informed consent was obtained from all participants prior to their participation in the study. The research involved a questionnaire-based survey titled “Digital Literacy and Adoption of Digital Services Among Older Adults in Pune City.” Participants were older adults aged 60 years and above residing in Pune, India, who were capable of providing independent consent. Before the questionnaire was administered, participants were provided with a clear explanation of the purpose of the research, the nature of their participation, and how the collected data would be used for academic research purposes. Participants were informed that their participation was entirely voluntary, that they could refuse to answer any question, and that they could withdraw from the study at any time without any consequences. Consent was obtained either in written form through the consent section of the questionnaire or, in cases where the survey was interviewer-administered, verbal consent was first obtained and then recorded by the researcher by marking the consent box on the questionnaire form. Participants were also informed that no personally identifiable information would be collected, that their responses would remain anonymous and confidential, and that the data would be analysed only in aggregated form for research and publication purposes. Participants were further informed that the study involved no medical procedures, psychological testing, biological samples, or sensitive personal data and, therefore, posed no foreseeable risk to participants. Data collection was conducted between January 2025 and March 2025, and consent was obtained from all participants prior to participation in the survey.