Attention

Is what people most often want from others, I think attention is even more demanded than help, as a lot of people whining about their problems do not really need help, just a pat on the back and a sympatetic ear. Since such ears are hard to come by (unless you have a sharp knife), a lot of people resort to dramatizing, blowing their problems out of proportion, and even making them up.

This is also a problem on the Internet, where it is even easier to lie and cheat, as you don't have to keep a straight face when doing it, you don't even have to be particularly coherent. You can also add a paypal donation box, and you earn while you whine.

There are of course such cases in the non-virtual world as well, people claiming they (or their children) have leukemia and then asking for donations and so on.

Attention is actually such a commodity that people are starting to charge for it (psychiatrists, then there's the various help hotlines), I am sure you could earn plenty of money just running an ad saying "I'm a good listener, and I will listen to everything you want to tell me with interest and compassion", then just make a recording of you saying 'yes, mhm, that's interesting' and set it so that it runs one of those whenever there's a lull in the conversation.

It is important to have a person or persons in life who are there for you when you need to vent your feelings, explain your problems and feel wanted and loved. So do not shut yourself from society, you can try and turn anyone into a friend, even in this day and age of isolationism and alienation.

Of course, the main rule of friendship is still you get what you give, so try not to have a relationship that is too unequal, as it can quickly turn from friendship into a degenerate patient-doctor relationship, or even confessor-confesser (blame dictionary.com), which is usually sooner or later abandoned by the 'doctor' person, unless they also try to satisfy a martyr complex.

Whatever that may be, the most important is that you become aware of your own desires, needs and complexes, and try to turn them to the positive side, as most of them can be either good or bad (like the 'doctor' person, who can do wonders for society), and to limit them to keep them in check and satisfiable.