Easy to explain
I don't think that young adults more vigilant than older adults. Quite opposite, actually.
The explanation of numbers lies in another dimension:
the older generations less likely to do something shameful, as a result, there is no need to hide. Older gens never put bad info about themselves from the begining, thus why care about privacy settings?
Younger generations still learning the life and likely to indulge something spicy that may compromise them later on.