There's a website that has a chat room that I've been apart of for something like 12 years now. I consider the people there really good friends and have met a good 30 or 40 of them (It's a small chat room) in real life through the years. I've even dated one guy from the chat room, before I met my husband. In other words, these guys are honest to goodness, I know them in real life not just on the internet, friends.
One day I was complaining there about something that had happened to me involving someone that had disappointed me. One of the people chatting said "Ticia, it seems you're always being disappointed by someone. What's going on?"
It really made me sit back and think. Because the truth was that I wasn't constantly being disappointed by people. It's just that this chat room had become my go-to place to vent. So most of my communication with them was me whining about my day or the people in it. When that's *all* you say to people, of course they're going to think that you're doing it too much and that's all your life is about.
I've cut way back on complaining to people in the chat room. There's still one person on there that I'll private message and vent to, but we're more like best friends. She comes to my house whenever she's passing through, and she lives about an hour away. And I always try to be upbeat and positive at other times.
If all we hear from someone are complaints about how they've has stubbed their toe, again, then we might either tell them to put some shoes on, or we're going to distance ourselves so we don't have to hear it anymore.
If all anyone ever hears from you (general you, this is not directed at anyone) is complaining, you become an emotional drain on their energy. There are some people you have a good enough relationship with that they can stand it for awhile, but even they're going to have to tell you to stop, eventually, if you're never positive with them. Of course it's okay to complain about stuff to friends when you need to. If that's all you ever do, though, you need to be prepared to hear that you're doing it too much.