The human race has become more desperate than ever.Not since “Fiddler on the Roof” have matchmakers been so hot.More than 1,500 matchmakers and at least 1,000 online dating services are in the U.S., according to Ignite Matchmaking Service.These matchmakers have been getting busy.Kelleher and Associates, a mother-daughter matchmaking team that operates in more than 10 U.S. cities, has seen an increase in national membership in the past year, according to its Web site.The company boasts at least 85 percent of the clientele make a connection, co-founder and CEO Amber Kelleher told “20/20” this past year. But that’s nothing compared to Patti Stanger of Bravo’s “The Millionaire Matchmaker,” who claims her matchmaking company, The Millionaire Club, has a 99 percent success rate.Whoever says you can’t buy love has never owned a dog.But love you purchase doesn’t come cheap.Stanger charges $25,000 to $100,000 a year depending on the package, which includes unlimited setups with the youngest, hottest and blondest broads around who would normally never give these horny, socially awkward men the time of day.While these ladies get off easy through Stanger’s “no sex” policy, the men definitely get ripped off. They pay the big bucks to wine and dine these potential trophy wives, and they don’t even get to test drive the car before they purchase it.But Stanger isn’t the only matchmaker in the reality television market.Mother-son master matchmakers JoAnn and Steven Ward also have their own show.”Tough Love,” which premiered March 15 on VH1, throws eight unlucky-in-love women into relationship boot camp.And these women are in dire need of some butt-kicking.Their nicknames range from “Miss Fatal Attraction” to “Miss BrideZilla” to “Miss Ball Buster,” and they fall anything but short of their titles.Each episode, Ward sends a woman off into the big, bad world of dating to find their one and only — or their one and only who will put up with these stereotypically lovelorn women.On the other side of the matchmaking spectrum are online dating Web sites, which swear you will find your soulmate in its infinite database of singles within 30 days or your money back, guaranteed.On average, 236 eHarmony members marry every day in the U.S, according to Harris Interactive, and eHarmony marriages account for two percent of all U.S. marriages.This number is likely to grow. The Web site reported a 40 percent increase in business in the last quarter of 2008. Match.com is close behind.An estimated 20,000 new members join match.com every day, according to its Web site.And like eHarmony, match.com is also seeing an increase in business. Its 2008 fourth quarter revenue is the strongest since its creation in 1994.And match.com’s membership is up by 15 percent.While match.com costs $15 a month, eHarmony charges $20 to $60 a month depending on length of membership.That’s a small price to pay for happiness.People are bored. People are lonely. Everybody needs to get their freak on.Not everybody is content with becoming the crazy cat lady or lifelong bachelor.But if people are so obsessed with finding fate and destiny, then they should just check out the local strip joint.I can guarantee these “soulmates” come at a much cheaper price and are more accessible than filling out surveys and compatibility tests.Drew Belle Zerby is a 22-year-old mass communication senior from Vidalia.– – – -Contact Drew Belle Zerby at [email protected]