I first heard the phrase “Before Corona” in the middle of 2020. The abbreviation “B.C.” has also been referred to as “Before Covid.”
The March 17, 2020 online edition of the New York Times published an opinion written by Thomas L. Friedman where he says: “There is the world B.C. – Before Corona – and the world A.C. – After Corona. We have not even begun to fully grasp what the A.C. world will look like.”
The phrase appeared in a meme depicting a black and white photo of a restaurant scene “before Corona”. This reflects the general thoughts and feelings during lockdown when restaurants were forced to close and people could no longer go out to eat and mingle freely.
Social Media Trends as of April 27, 2022
Facebook #beforecorona: 24,000 people are posting about this
Instagram #beforecorona: 151,032 posts
TikTok #beforecorona: 77.2 million views
YouTube #beforecorona: 426 videos; 327 channels
Google Trends: before Corona reached its peak in March 2020.
Sources:
“A Photo Of People Eating In A Restaurant 2019 BC (Before Corona).” Shut Up And Take My Money. URL: https://www.shutupandtakemymoney.com/a-photo-of-people-eating-in-a-restaurant-2019-bc-before-corona-meme/.
Friedman, Thomas L. “Our New Historical Divide: B.C. and A.C. — the World Before Corona and the World After.” The New York Times. March 17, 2020. URL: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/17/opinion/coronavirus-trends.html.