HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL star VANESSA HUDGENS is reluctant to "get serious" with boyfriend ZAC EFRON - because her friends will always come first.

The 19-year-old actress insists she isn't prepared to settle down with her 20-year-old co-star while she is still in her teens, and she is determined to balance her romance with her family and female pals.

She tells U.S. magazine Seventeen, "It's fun having a boyfriend. He's a friend and a cute friend who you like. It's nice. But only time will tell. I'm still young, and I have my girlfriends and I have my family. I think that it's definitely important to have balance.

"I think girls can be sucked into the relationship and give too much. They like to be so into their boyfriends, you know? And you can't do that, because you get too infatuated-and then you lose contact with your friends. It happens to a lot of girls."